Playing With Firewhiskey
by juniorvarsity
Summary: It took awhile, after Fred's death. It took awhile for George to re-open the shop, to admit he needed Ron's help. And it's taking the longest while for George to live again. -COMPLETE-
1. Of Reunions and Acquaintances

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything (except for Kaitlyn and Kyle). It all belongs to JK Rowling. **

**AN: **Please review! This is my first HP fic and I'm desperate to get better!

The door to the second floor flat swung open and Kaitlyn Thompson had to stop for a moment as the shock of the man before her registered. In the end, after trying to figure out what to say, all she could come up with was, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, it's nice to see you too, I really missed you as well!" came the amused reply.

Kaitlyn stood and stared for a few seconds longer before she made a sound that resembled a squeal and flung herself into her older brother's arms, "Kyle! You weren't supposed to be back for another month! You said in your last letter that training got moved up, and I wasn't going to get to see you until Christmas time! Oh but of course I'm really glad to see you sooner, don't get me wrong, you just took me off guard and it's really been quite the week at the Ministry, and I really haven't been able to tidy up around here at all! Oh, but you must be tired, how are you?"

All of this came out very quickly and by the time Kaitlyn had stopped rambling, Kyle had managed to untangle himself from his younger sister's arms, usher them both inside, and set his bags down in the guest room that he used when he was in town.

He turned around to look at Kaitlyn, who had parked herself in the doorway of the room, flushed with excitement. He chuckled lightly, "I am fine, a bit knackered, but nothing I can't deal with. Yes, training was moved up, but Coach ended up having family matters to tend to, so I'll be here for a couple of weeks at least. Wood and I flooed back to his place earlier today and then I came here straight away."

"Oh." Kaitlyn said, giving her brother a mischievous smirk, "You and Wood, eh?"

Kyle rolled his eyes, "Oh come off it, Kait. Wood and I are just friends. Besides, I think he's still mourning Fred Weasley."

At the mention of Fred Weasley, Kaitlyn's smile faltered slightly. It had only been a year since the Final Battle. Kaitlyn never knew the Weasley's well, but the twins always made her laugh, and she'd had a few classes at Hogwarts with Ron since they were in the same year. Kaitlyn remembered walking through the Great Hall the night of the Battle, frantically searching for Kyle, needing to know that he was alive, when she saw the Weasley family. One huge circle of red haired, teary-eyed, sobbing Weasleys.

And just a few metres away from them, stood Kyle, looking devastated, lost and tired. One look at him and Kaitlyn had known something was wrong. It broke her heart to think about, not just their loss, but the loss of the entire wizarding community. So many people died fighting for the greater good of wizards everywhere. She was both proud of her parents and angry at them for being so brave, yet leaving their children all alone. They had been cursed to madness, she later found out, and found themselves, much like the Longbottoms, a permanent home at St. Mungo's.

Ever since that night, Kyle and Kaitlyn had been on their own. Luckily, Kaitlyn was graduating Hogwarts and quickly found a job at the Ministry, in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, working alongside a former Hogwarts classmate, Hermione Granger. Kyle was brilliant at Quidditch, and had graduated two years prior to Kaitlyn. He became a reserve Chaser for Puddlemere United right out of school, but after the Second War ended, he, Oliver Wood, and one of their back-up Beaters were taken off of reserve. That meant Kaitlyn was left on her own for the better part of the year, as Kyle was traveling and training with Puddlemere all the time. She didn't mind too much, but it did get lonely sometimes, especially when she sat alone in her parents' ward at St. Mungo's watching them blankly watch her.

Kaitlyn shook her head, ridding her thoughts of that bittersweet night. "I saw Ron Weasley the other day." She said softly, "He seems like he's doing okay." She shrugged, "But I didn't really talk to him very much. He'd just come to work to take Hermione to lunch."

By now, the Thompson siblings had meandered into their kitchen and Kyle was making some tea. He nodded solemnly, "Oliver says that George owls him every now and then…says he doesn't seem like he does much else besides work."

"Yeah. I mean, the shop's doing really well now. Taking over even the Zonko's business." Kaitlyn sat down at the table, accepting the cup of tea Kyle offered her. "I didn't know Oliver fancied Fred."

"I think it was unrequited." Kyle stated, rolling his eyes thinking of his friend and team mate, "Pretty sure Fred was straight anyway. I mean the bloke's really got to move on."

"Kind of like you do, don't you think?"

"We're not talking about that." Kyle said abruptly, giving his sister a look and immediately changing the subject. "Speaking of love, how's the git?"

"Kyle!" Kaitlyn admonished her brother, throwing him a dirty look. "He's not a git!"

"Really. Then why are you at home, without him, on a Friday night?"

Kaitlyn felt her cheeks flush bright red. "He's just...he…he's just busy, okay?" She wracked her brain, trying to remember where Zacharias had said he was going, but the truth was, she didn't know. He never told her. He just said that he was "busy." Kaitlyn pushed the nagging feeling at the back of her mind away and turned back to Kyle's skeptical raised eyebrow. "Besides, I saw him for lunch today."

Kyle studied his younger sister for a moment longer. He worried about her while he was away. Especially after he heard that she had taken Zacharias Smith back after the war ended. He knew it was just because Kaitlyn was still upset over their parents and Zacharias was there, a source of comfort and stability. It didn't make Kyle like him any more though. The bastard had joined the DA with Harry Potter then refused to fight with them. Not to mention what a horrible boyfriend he was to Kaitlyn in general when she was nothing but perfect. And clearly, as much as Kaitlyn claimed he'd changed, it wasn't true. But after seeing the fire flare behind his sister's eyes when Kyle had insulted Zach, the Quidditch player decided to let it drop. He would investigate further later.

"Well, since it seems that you clearly don't have any plans, you're coming out with me." Kyle declared.

Kaitlyn responded with a snort. "Yeah right. I'm not going to sit at Three Broomsticks with you and Oliver listening to you guys talk about Quidditch all night. I'd rather do the dishes."

As she said that, both siblings' eyes trailed towards the sink overflowing with dirty plates and glasses, and Kaitlyn wrinkled up her nose, turning slightly pink. "Well. Maybe not the dishes."

Kyle rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, Kait. I'm your brother for Merlin's sake. I'm back in town for who knows how long? The least you could do is soak up all the time in the world you've got for your favourite person on Earth." He batted his eyelashes at the younger girl.

Kaitlyn threw her head back in a laugh, "Favourite person on Earth? Don't flatter yourself." She smirked, but stood up anyway. "Just let me get dressed, will you? I can't go out looking like this."

Kyle only rolled his eyes in response.

Fifteen minutes later, the Thompson siblings had bundled up and stepped out into the November London chill, making the short walk over to Three Broomsticks where Kyle, Oliver, and a few of their teammates had agreed to meet.

"I'm telling you, Kyle. More than ten minutes of Quidditch talk and I am outta there." She warned her brother as they stepped into the welcoming warmth of Three Broomsticks.

It was busy, as usual, but it was easy to spot Oliver. He was in a boisterous group of men, all a little drunk already after being there for Merlin knows how long.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" one of the players chortled when Kyle and Kaitlyn walked up to the table.

"Yeah, yeah, bugger off. This one had to get ready. This is my little sister by the way." Kyle rolled his eyes, pointing directly at Kaitlyn who scowled at him before turning to flash a charming smile at the rest of the group.

"Hello. I'm Kaitlyn." She waved, looking around the group a fairly unfamiliar faces. The introductions were made, though Kaitlyn had to admit that she wasn't quite paying attention to any of them, only offering friendly smiles to the men her brother introduced her to. In any case, other than Oliver and Kyle, Kaitlyn thought Quidditch players all kind of looked the same. Then again, it was probably because she had absolutely no interest in the game whatsoever, besides when Kyle was playing.

Then, she realized that she knew some people sitting at the table. Thankfully, Hermione Granger was there with Ron and George Weasley.

Hermione smiled up at her, "Hi Kait. I didn't know you would be coming. Thank goodness you're here, though. I don't think I could stand another minute of Quidditch talk."

Kaitlyn laughed and shrugged her coat off, sliding into the chair next to Hermione, falling into easy conversation with her about office gossip while Kyle went off to get some butterbeer for them both.

"Oh Kaitlyn, I don't think you've ever formally met my…uh…"

"Boyfriend." Kaitlyn finished for a blushing Hermione with a smirk over at her co-worker. Hermione was so horrible at this relationship business if she couldn't even call Ron her boyfriend in public by now. Heck, even Kaitlyn was better than she was at it, and that really wasn't saying very much. "Hello, Ron. It's nice to see you again." She said, grinning at the younger Weasley, who was just as red as his girlfriend. She raised an eyebrow, eyes shifting over to George.

The twin was already giving his brother a teasing elbow to the side, and stopped only to turn to Kaitlyn with a lopsided half smile, "I'm George."

Kaitlyn nodded, "I know. You and um…Fred were in my brother's year. Beaters for Gryffindor." Kaitlyn treaded on Fred's name lightly. She didn't know the twins at all and did not want to offend George, especially since she knew that one year was not nearly enough time to be over death. She herself was not close to being over her parents' deaths and she couldn't imagine what George was feeling after losing his twin.

"Ah yes." George said with a hint of amusement in his voice, gracefully ignoring Kaitlyn's comment about Fred, "The Slytherin chaser. Have to admit, we didn't get along well in school." He flashed Kaitlyn the Weasley smile that her dorm mates often fawned over in school.

Kaitlyn was glad that it was dark in the pub because she was pretty sure she could feel her face heating up unintentionally. So that was why her dorm mates were obsessed with the Weasley twins. She'd never received that smile directly before. She couldn't imagine getting two of those identical smiles at once. Surely, she would melt.

She cleared her throat and let out a nervous chuckle, glancing at Kyle who was shamelessly play flirting with Oliver Wood, "Oh well, Gryffindors and Slytherins never quite got along, did they?" she replied lamely before quickly turning to Hermione.

It had been a long time since she had received even the slightest bit of male attention from someone besides her brother, Zach and his flat mates. It was kind of nice, Kaitlyn had to admit, though she almost immediately scolded herself in her head. _'You dolt. You have Zacharias Smith. Zacharias Smith. Zach. My Zach. Don't be an idiot, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Thompson. Besides, George is far too…no _stop_ it. Zach, Zach, Zach.'_

"Kaitlyn!"

The brunette snapped her eyes up from her daydream and looked up sheepishly at whoever was calling her name. "Uh…yes?"

Kyle furrowed his brow at her, "Are you alright?"

It was then that Kaitlyn realized everyone at the table was, well, _staring_ at her. She flushed bright red and grabbed her butterbeer, taking a long sip after mumbling, "Perfectly fine."

Kyle gave her a sidelong glance before turning back to his team mates continuing their conversation. Kaitlyn scrunched up her nose in annoyance at his over-protectiveness of her. She heard a snort of laughter coming from next to her, and when she looked up, George Weasley was giving her a wide smile. When she flushed bright red for what seemed like the millionth time that night, George had the gall to _wink _at her. Kaitlyn should've figured it out then; she would later kick herself for not knowing sooner. But Kaitlyn Thompson? Well, she was screwed.


	2. Overprotective

George was stocking the shelves in the "Need a Break from School" section, located in the far back corner of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, when he heard a loud crack. This caused him to nearly drop a stack of Skiving Snack Boxes – which certainly would have been a production to clean up. Luckily, they made it safely to the ground before any further mishaps could occur. George stood up, stretching his six foot frame, and headed to the front of the store. It was approaching exam time at Hogwarts and the other schools in the area, so it was a slow time for the store; George wondered who it could be. He took in a deep breath and mustered the best cheerful voice he could come up with.

"Welcome to Weasley's… Oh. Hi, Ron," George said upon seeing his younger brother, who had taken it upon his pesky self to "drop by" every once in awhile. He knew it was because Ron was reporting back to their mother about George's well-being. The Weasley twin (because he would always be _the_Weasley twin now) appreciated the concern of his entirely too large family, _really__he__did_, but sometimes, he found them downright irritating.

Ron smiled at him, shaking some early winter snow off of his coat. "Hello, George. Got time for some supper?"

"I don't know, mate." George shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at the Skiving Snack Boxes just waiting to get sorted. "I've got stuff I need to do tonight…"

"Like what?"

"Yeah, like what?"

George whipped his head around to look at the door, and rolled his eyes when he realized who it was. "What, did mum put you up to this?" he demanded, glaring at Ron again.

Ron shook his head with an amused smile.

"Aw, don't blame Ron, Georgie." Oliver Wood strolled over to George, patting him on the shoulder. "He didn't even know I was coming. Come on, Weasley. Come out with us."

George glanced over Oliver's shoulder and noticed that the former Slytherin Chaser he had met the previous night was curiously looking through the "Get Back at Your Brother" section, which sat near the front of the store. They had conversed briefly at the Leaky Cauldron and had, for all intents and purposes, reconciled their differences from their Hogwarts days, each admitting that they only hated each other due their house affiliation.

Seeing Kyle now reminded George of how alike he and his younger sister looked. _Kaitlyn_. She was absolutely beautiful. That was George's first thought when she and Kyle had come to a stop at their table and introduced themselves the night before. As it turned out, George really didn't have much of a chance to have other thoughts about Kaitlyn. He and Ron were highly distracted by the Quidditch players at their table, and Kaitlyn seemed content to engage in conversation with Hermione all night long.

It was pretty amazing, George mused, sitting at a table and having Butterbeer after Butterbeer with half of the Puddlemere United Quidditch team. He found it incredibly amusing that good ol' Oliver Wood had become their starting Keeper. But George wasn't entirely surprised. Wood was always brilliant at Quidditch. Obsessive? Yes, but there was some merit in that, George supposed, especially since he was now a professional Quidditch player. Oh, how Fred would've loved to see that.

And there it was again.

For the past year, George had been desperately trying to keep his mind off of his late twin, as he was advised by everyone he knew. But how could he possibly keep his mind off of the most important person in his life? He knew his family and his friends were only trying to help, but none of them understood. They didn't have a twin, an identical version of themselves who knew every single thing about them. They didn't have someone who knew what they were thinking before the thought had even fully-formed. He missed Fred every single moment of his days, and if it hadn't been for Ron's continual attempts to get him out more often, George probably would never leave the shop or his flat located right above it. George supposed that the only other reason he ever went out was to keep up appearances. He _did_ own a joke shop after all. He couldn't go around being depressed all the time, even if it was exactly how he felt. All of the time.

It hadn't really helped either that Alicia Spinnet had broken things off with him shortly after the war had ended. She had moved away to America and left George behind. He tried to pretend that this didn't bother him, but it did. Especially because George knew that it was his fault. Alicia had never provided an explanation, but George knew that she just couldn't handle him anymore. She tried, Merlin knows she did. Alicia had cooked for George, gotten George out of bed, made sure that the store was fully stocked at all times, and even ran the front of the shop for the first few months following Fred's death. But when George showed no signs of improvement, Alicia had decided that George simply didn't want to get better and, for the sake of her own future, she'd left. George couldn't blame her.

For months, George couldn't understand how his own family could even stand to be around him. Here he was, an identical, walking, living reminder of Fred. _Living_ being the key word here. For a while, George got by without a mirror. He couldn't bear to look into one because he only wanted to punch his reflection every single time. Why had they, whoever they were, decided to take Fred alone? Didn't they know that they belonged together – forever? Had it not been for the fact that George knew that the store was Fred's dream (and it was George's too, but not without Fred), George was sure he would've also given up on himself a long time ago.

To the immense relief of the Weasley family, Harry, and Hermione, George didn't give up. There were days the clan feared that they may walk into the twins' flat, only to find George dead. There certainly were moments where it seemed like a good idea to George. When he finally showed up at the Burrow for a family dinner for the first time in eight months, everyone was shocked into silence. Then, Molly screamed and threw herself at George. From that day on, George threw himself into his work. Every spare waking moment he had was spent inventing new products, advertising the shop, and servicing his customers. His siblings offered to help, but George refused. This was his; his and Fred's. And now that Fred was gone, George needed to do this by himself. For Fred, at least.

"I'm telling you, he's going mad, Oliver. Working all the time. He zones out like this for ages some days."

George tuned back into the present, where Ron was telling Oliver and Kyle about the many "zone outs", as Ron referred to them, he had these days. George couldn't help it – his mind just didn't like to stay in the present.

"I'm not going _mad_," George quipped at Ron. "I just have a lot to think about. Aren't you supposed to be at Auror training right now anyway?"

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "You? A lot to think about? Right."

George scowled at his former schoolmate and Quidditch captain, who merely smiled in return.

"It's Saturday, George," Ron reminded him dryly.

"Come on, Weasley," Kyle finally spoke up from behind the other two, graciously saving George from having to admit he'd forgotten what day of the week it was. "We're not going to get plastered. Just some supper and perhaps a drink or two at my flat. Hermione said she would come over as well, and she might be bringing her friend Harry. It'll be a fun time, mate."

George looked over at Kyle, who just looked back at him with an even stare. No taunting, no nagging. It was the combination of his appreciation for Kyle's lack of ulterior motive and his stomach's loud protests that finally caused George to cave in. "Fine. I guess I could do with a break."

Ron broke into an ear splitting grin. "Great! Come on, then. I'm positively _starved_."

Before George could say anything, Oliver, Kyle and Ron marched out of the store, looking over their shoulders at him expectantly.

"Just hang on a minute!" George called after them, quickly going through the motions of closing up the shop, making sure that he moved the stack of Skiving Snack Boxes to the back storage room before he had an unfortunate accident with them in the morning.

"Don't look so grim about having a bit of fun with your friends," Oliver chided George as they finally left the store. "You missed me. Admit it."

"Oh, Wood." George sighed overdramatically, almost resembling his former self. "I am just so flattered that you think so highly of me. But you know I just don't play for that side of the Quidditch pitch." He batted his eyelashes at his former teammate.

Kyle snorted in laughter as Wood chuckled. "You're an arse, Weasley."

It had been awhile since George remembered joking so easily with anyone about… well, anything. It was usually forced, something that he had told himself he had to do for the sake of the shop's reputation, as well as for the sake of his family. He knew his mother worried incessantly about him, and if he could just put on a nice façade for her, she would be placated for the time being. Ron and Ginny were a bit tougher to fool, but they had to be, especially since they often found themselves the butt of his and Fred's jokes.

By the time the three men made it back to the Thompson siblings' flat, their noses were growing pink from the gusts of wind sweeping through Diagon Alley. As a result, they welcomed the heat which radiated throughout the flat.

"Come in and hang out while I get some food figured out." Kyle waved the rest of the group to the couches several yards away as he flicked his wand to open all of the cupboards, carefully inspecting his sister's rather sparse food items.

As Kyle prepared what he thought would be an adequate supper, the Weasleys and Oliver goofed around in the living room. Kyle thought he heard a loud bang a few times, but he chose to ignore it, concluding that there was nothing too valuable in the living room for anyone to break anyway.

The supper ready, Kyle looked around the kitchen, reflecting on how little time he had spent in it during the last year. It had been a long road for Kyle. Quidditch was exhausting at the professional level, though he would never trade his job for anything. It consumed his life and Kyle often felt guilty for being away for such long periods of time. Kaitlyn put on a brave face, , but he saw how she struggled with having to go from having a family of four around to living alone most days of the year. She was only eighteen after all. Kyle didn't think it was fair, but Kaitlyn wouldn't let him quit Quidditch, and, if Kyle was honest, he didn't really want toquiteither.

Playing professional Quidditch was his lifelong dream, and now it had finally come true. Yes, he and Oliver got off to a rocky start, but now they were the best of friends. It had been a little lonely on the road for him,, but the rest of his teammates had become more like family to him than his house at Hogwarts had even been. Actually, Kyle hadn't spoken to any of the Slytherins he'd hung out with in school ever since the whole break-up situation. He hadn't really expected anything different, as everyone was bound to side with his ex. Kyle still didn't even know if he was technically an ex-boyfriend or not, so he always simply referred to him as "the ex". But, he supposed, that was the whole root of their issue: the title thing.

Kyle shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts and quickly opened up the refrigerator, taking out the case of Butterbeers he'd purchased earlier in the day to serve the group of friends sitting in the living room.

"Hello, Hermione," Kyle greeted, noticing that she and Harry had arrived during his absence.

Hermione gave him a smile. "Evening, Kyle. Thanks for having us over. Have you met Harry yet?"

Kyle looked over to Harry, who was sitting on the other side of Hermione and smiled. "It's a pleasure to have you over. Make yourselves at home. I made a light supper, but I'm not really much of a cook to be honest," Kyle said to the group. "Kaitlyn's really a much better chef. But I don't really know where she is at the moment."

George laughed and stood up, making his way to the kitchen. "As long as you don't kill us, eh?"

The group of friends spent the better part of the evening catching up with one another. It made George realize how long it had been since he had done this – just sat around, having Butterbeers and talking with his friends. He couldn't truly remember the last time he'd felt this at ease. Barring the furtive glances Ron would throw his way every so often, of course. It was as though Ron thought George was going to Avada Kedavra himself at any given moment. George had decided early on to very consciously ignore the pang of annoyance he felt every time he noticed Ron giving him a nervous look; after all, he was only doing it because he cared.

It was about eleven when the door to the flat slammed open, revealing an upset Kaitlyn. All conversation stopped as everyone looked up at her. The first thing George noticed was that the younger girl had clearly been crying. He immediately frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Kyle beat him to it.

"Kait?" He stood up and walked over to the door where Kaitlyn had awkwardly tried to step in and walk to her bedroom unnoticed.

"Hello, everyone," Kaitlyn said with false cheer in her voice. "I didn't realize you would all be here tonight," she said in an apologetic tone. "Have you all eaten already?"

"I made supper a few hours ago," Kyle replied dismissively. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Oliver cleared his throat, softly trying to start a conversation with Harry about how Ginny was doing during her final year at Hogwarts as the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. Hermione and Ron quickly joined in the conversation, all wanting to allow their hosts some privacy. However, as much as he tried to, George couldn't help but continue to listen to what the Thompson siblings were saying. Kaitlyn had looked completely distraught and that, for some reason, concerned George.

"I'm fine, Kyle. Really," Kaitlyn quietly insisted just a few metres away from where George was sitting.

"You don't look fine," Kyle accused. "You've been crying."

Kaitlyn made a step towards her room, which Kyle easily blocked. "Have you just been with Zacharias?"

George noted the fury which laced Kyle's tone. He recognized it as the 'protective older brother' tone. He'd heard Charlie and Bill use that tone with him, Fred, Ron and Ginny in the past, and he'd definitely heard himself use it with Ginny at least once.

"If you must know, yes," Kaitlyn snapped at her brother, finally pushing past him to put the leftovers from her dinner in the refrigerator. George raised an eyebrow unconsciously. Zacharias Smith? He and Kaitlyn must be an item.

_That__'__s__too__bad_, George thought. From what he had heard from Ginny and some of his and Fred's female friends, Zacharias Smith was about as attentive of a boyfriend as a plant. No wonder Kaitlyn was crying.

"Bloody hell," Kyle muttered under his breath. "What did he do? I'm going to kill that bastard –"

"Kyle." Kaitlyn put her hand up to stop him. "You are not doing anything. He didn't do anything. I don't understand why you hate him so much."

"Are you bloody serious, Kaitlyn?"

Clearly, this had come out much louder than the elder Thompson had anticipated because, once again, all conversation stopped.

Kaitlyn spared a glance over at the group of friends assembled in the living room, and George had to quickly look away. He didn't want her to know that he'd been listening this whole time. Slowly, the Weasley twin looked back up and watched the exchange once more as his friends forcibly went back to making small talk.

Kaitlyn took a deep breath, eyes closed. George noticed how tired she looked. The brunette let out a long, slow breath and said softly to her brother, "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."

Without another word or another glance at anyone else, Kaitlyn quickly and silently slipped into her bedroom, closing the door behind her. Kyle seemed to battle with his emotions for a few minutes, but in the end, he plastered a smile on his face and came back over to the group.

"Everything alright?" Oliver asked as the elder Thompson sat down.

Kyle nodded, "Yeah. Sorry about that, mate. She just…" Kyle shook his head, "I just can't believe she puts up with the…_bullshit_ Zacharias hands out to her. I don't even know what he did this time, but he's just so awful most of the time that I have no doubt he's the reason she's so upset."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "He makes it seem like a chore every time she asks if he would like to have lunch with her. He never even comes into the office. And in school, the girls hated him; no one was ever sure how he ended up in _Hufflepuff_of all houses. He's definitely not the loyal type."

It was silent for a moment before Kyle shook his head once more and changed the subject. At least, he'd reasoned with himself, Kaitlyn was safely at home and he could keep a watchful eye over the door of her bedroom for now. He knew they'd have to talk about this soon, though. It made Kyle's skin crawl to know that Zach was the only person Kaitlyn really had around when Kyle was at training.

Kyle was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't notice how Oliver kept throwing him worried glances, or that George kept looking over to Kaitlyn's bedroom door.

George was disappointed when he found out that Kaitlyn was dating someone – not that he would have ever had the guts to make a move on her, especially seeing how protective of her brother was. Besides, he really didn't think he could stomach a girlfriend now. He'd be an awful boyfriend, of that he was sure.

But George couldn't help but feel that same bit of rage that Kyle had displayed earlier every time he went to the bathroom that night and heard muffled sobs coming from Kaitlyn's room. Whatever games Zacharias Smith was playing with this poor girl, George didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.


	3. Playing with Firewhiskey: The 1st Time

**Disclaimer:**Except for Kaitlyn and Kyle, I don't own anything.

**Author****'****s****Note:**Thanks to all those who are reading – please review! And, of course, thank you to my wonderful beta, Kim.

Kaitlyn and Kyle exited the elevator at St. Mungo's reception floor, bidding the Welcome Witch goodbye before they quickly stepped out into Muggle London. They had just been to visit their parents, which was a weekly occurrence for Kaitlyn. The eighteen-year-old used to visit everyday on her way home from work, especially when Kyle had first gone away for Quidditch training. However, the silences in the room, the blank stares, and the reality of the entire situation had quickly become too much for Kaitlyn to stomach daily. Every time she sat in that plastic chair at their bedside, making one-sided conversation with people who were supposed to be her parents, a piece of Kaitlyn's heart broke. It was a constant reminder to the young woman exactly how unfair life could be. After just two months, her visits were reduced to once a week; on a good week, Kaitlyn would visit twice. She felt incredibly guilty about this – after all, these were her parents – but it was hard for Kaitlyn to see them alive and yet as close to death as one could be.

After the war had ended, Kyle had only been in London for a week before he was sent off for Quidditch training. Every time he came home, the reality of his parents' condition hit him just as hard as the day he had them admitted. During this particular visit, Kyle had merely watched as Kaitlyn rambled on about the things that were going on in their lives, talking as though their parents could even come close to comprehending the things she had said. The fake cheer that Kaitlyn put on as soon as they walked into the ward both impressed and saddened Kyle. Kaitlyn was here often, and Kyle imagined she was usually here by herself. He couldn't truly believe that Zacharias would even consider being at St. Mungo's with her. It angered him to think of this, but the older Thompson pushed that thought out of his mind. Kaitlyn had already gotten angry at him earlier in the morning for "meddling" in her business.

She had received an owl from Zacharias as soon as she woke up that morning, with a note apologizing for whatever it was he had done the previous night – Kaitlyn still wouldn't tell Kyle. All she'd said after reading it was that Zacharias wanted to meet at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade, and that Kyle should join them. Kaitlyn really wanted them to get along and, after a pleading look from her, Kyle gave in. It wasn't very often that Kyle could resist giving his younger sister what she wanted.

But Kyle wasn't happy about it, and was praying that Zacharias would mess up in his presence later that evening just so he could finally do something about it. Every fiber in his being itched to retaliate at the former Hufflepuff because his sister clearly couldn't. Kyle supposed this was why Kaitlyn was placed in Hufflepuff; her loyalty was one of her stronger qualities. But loyalty could also be a dangerous trait to have, and Kyle had learned this the hard way during his days as a Slytherin.

Kaitlyn's weak attempt to stifle a small sniffle brought Kyle back to reality – the reality that he often liked to pretend wasn't his. Unfortunately, being back in London forced him to face it. He glanced over at Kaitlyn, concerned, but unsure of what he could do to banish the difficult visit to the back of her mind.

"How about we head over to Hogsmeade a little early?" Kyle suggested after watching Kaitlyn's strained expression for a minute, purposefully ignoring the few tears that had managed to escape from the younger girl's eyes. "Maybe we could do some shopping before meeting Zacharias?"

Kaitlyn hesitated, but only for a moment. "Sure. I suppose I could do with a little Honeydukes stock up."

The Thompson siblings spent the better part of their afternoon walking around Hogsmeade, window shopping at Gladrags Wizardwear, buying sweets at Honeydukes, and having a bit of tea at Madam Puddifoot's. Throughout the course of the afternoon, Kaitlyn began to cheer up, especially after a little boy, no more than eight or nine, walked up to Kyle in awe, having recognized him from one of the Quidditch matches he had played. Kyle, not used to the attention quite yet, blushed furiously and signed a napkin for the little boy, who looked like he could die happy right there.

"Already basking in the fame?"

Kaitlyn jumped slightly at the unexpected voice and turned around to see Oliver standing there with a smirk as the little boy excitedly ran away, not even noticing that he'd almost bumped into the Keeper for the very same team.

Kyle rolled his eyes, but smiled. "No. That's a very Gryffindor thing to do, anyway," he taunted in reply.

"Three years and you're still talking about our school houses, huh? Well, I s'pose it took me four to get over you being in Slytherin after all," Oliver chided.

Kaitlyn watched the playful banter between the two Quidditch players with an amused smile. The trio had begun walking down the street, Kaitlyn sandwiched in between Oliver and Kyle. Watching them bicker was akin to watching a married couple. At that thought, Kaitlyn had to suppress a giggle so as to not draw attention to herself. It was so obvious, at least to Kaitlyn, that Oliver had a major crush on her brother, despite what Kyle insisted. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn was afraid that Kyle was a little too hung up on his last non-relationship to notice.

Kaitlyn referred to Kyle's only real relationship as a "non-relationship" because it was during his time at Hogwarts and, in Kaitlyn's opinion, had been an extremely unfortunate one. Of course, she couldn't really talk since Kyle despised Zach; Kaitlyn couldn't really blame him. From the outside, it seemed as though Zach was one of the most horrible people in the world, but Kaitlyn wished that Kyle could look past that. During the aftermath of Voldemort's demise, Zacharias was someone who had been there for her when no one else was. It was his arms Kaitlyn ran into after every visit to St. Mungo's, his covers she would hide under when she had a nightmare, and his jumpers she ruined with her tears. Kaitlyn owed him everything for keeping her remotely functional; she didn't think she would've been able to do it without him.

It didn't help Zach's case, though, that he had a hot temper. He'd never hit her or anything remotely close to that, but he wasn't exactly eloquent. Many times, unintentionally, he reminded Kaitlyn of how much she owed him for being there through her tough times. She knew that he didn't mean it and, in a way, she'd gotten used to it. But Kyle always got furious with Zach. Kaitlyn hoped that their meeting tonight wouldn't be a complete disaster.

_But__perhaps_, Kaitlyn thought as Kyle and Oliver continued to laugh about an inside joke, _if__Kyle__has__a__companion__for__the__night__and__he__'__s__in__a__good__mood,__it__will__go__well!_

"Oliver," Kaitlyn said, interrupting whatever it was that Kyle had been saying. "We're going to the Three Broomsticks. If you don't have plans, you should really come. My boyfriend, Zacharias Smith, will be meeting us there." She gave Oliver her highest wattage smile.

Oliver looked at Kaitlyn in surprise. "Well, as long as you don't mind. I've really been intruding on your family time…"

"Nonsense," Kaitlyn admonished. "I insist that you come."

Oliver looked over at Kyle, who nodded encouragingly, and then shrugged. "It's not like I have other plans tonight anyway."

The trio made their way over to Three Broomsticks, Kyle and Oliver picking up their conversation where they'd left it off, with Kaitlyn trailing them contentedly. Since it wasn't a Hogwarts weekend, the pub wasn't as crowded as Kaitlyn had always remembered it to be. It was good though, because it meant that finding a decently-sized table for four was not as difficult as it usually proved to be.

They slid into their seats, Oliver and Kyle across from Kaitlyn, leaving the empty seat next to her in anticipation of Zach's arrival.

"Shall I go get the first round?" Oliver offered after taking his coat off.

"Let's do mead," Kyle suggested. "I love Butterbeer, but I think I had half of the case last night."

"No objections here," Kaitlyn agreed. "Thanks, Oliver."

As the former Gryffindor Quidditch captain headed up to the bar to get the drinks, Kaitlyn turned towards Kyle. "Are you _sure_ you guys are just friends?"

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "Very."

"But you don't even think you'd give Oliver a try?"

"I don't know," Kyle replied with a shrug. "Why are you so interested in this all of a sudden?"

"Because you can't seem to get over Draco," Kaitlyn said bluntly, noticing the way that Kyle _still_ flinched when she said his name. "See? Kyle, you've got to move on. He was a damn _Death__Eater._"

Kyle rolled his eyes. "His _parents_ were Death Eaters. He couldn't be seen with me, or else they would know. Death Eaters can't have gay sons."

"You really need to stop making excuses for him. It's been two years."

"Don't you think I know that? And honestly, who are you to talk about making excuses?"

But before Kaitlyn could respond, Oliver returned with four mugs of mead, sliding them to the center of the table. "What are we bickering about now?" he asked with a smile.

Kaitlyn ignored Kyle's look and turned to Oliver, pulling a mug of mead towards her. "Draco Malfoy."

"Ah," Oliver said, looking over to Kyle for a moment. Kyle had briefly told him about his pseudo-relationship with the younger Slytherin, but Oliver had never pushed for details. He bit down on his lip and then sighed. "I thought we were trying to get over the prat," Oliver finally said, looking at Kyle earnestly. "He's not worth it. I already told you that if he couldn't even stand up to his parents, Death Eaters or not, he would never be able to stand up to anyone else. It would've been horrible to keep it a secret – even more horrible than it already was. You deserve a lot more than that, mate."

Kaitlyn grinned triumphantly. "I told you," she gloated before taking a long sip of her mead.

Kyle only shook his head in response, changing the subject. "Where's Zacharias?"

"He'll be here," Kaitlyn assured him.

Kyle held back his doubtful look and simply shrugged instead. He then turned to Oliver to discuss training schedules and the first game they would be playing after the holiday.

The Quidditch players became so engrossed in their discussion that Kaitlyn found herself looking around the room, desperately trying to figure out where in the world her boyfriend was. Zach did have a habit of being late, but never this late. For the sake of not provoking Kyle any further on the subject, Kaitlyn held back her complaints and tried her best to look neutral.

After an hour of waiting, however, Kaitlyn's empty cup and quickly boiling frustration kept her from holding back any longer. She suggested that the trio get another round of drinks before Zach's arrival, quickly making up that Zach sometimes got caught up at his mum's, and would probably be along soon enough. She tried to make herself sound as unperturbed as possible, but she knew by the dubious look that Kyle and Oliver both gave her that it didn't work. She was incredibly grateful, therefore, that Oliver quickly polished off his mug of mead, handing it off to Kaitlyn.

"I'll be right back," Kaitlyn announced, quickly getting up from her seat with all three mugs for another round. She didn't think she could face her brother's scorn.

As she waited for the three refills, Kaitlyn couldn't help but feel her frustration slowly turn into anger. Zacharias knew how much Kyle couldn't stand him, and he had promised that he would be on his best behaviour while Kyle was home. What could he possibly be doing that was keeping him over an hour late for an appointment that _he_had suggested? Kaitlyn couldn't understand what went through that boy's mind half of the time.

With a resigned sigh, Kaitlyn thanked the witch behind the bar and carefully made her way back to her table with three mugs of mead in hand. Zach often forgot about plans he'd made with her, or would cancel at the last minute, but Kaitlyn had thought that he'd known how important this was to her, especially since they had fought about this only a night ago.

The couple had gone out to dinner, to which Zach had showed up twenty minutes late, only to argue almost the whole way through. Zach had said that Kyle had never been there for Kaitlyn after the end of the war, otherwise he would have quit Quidditch for her. Zach insisted that because Kyle "went off and left Kaitlyn" for Zach to take care of, he clearly did not care all that much, and that Kyle had no right to dislike him as a result. He was indignant when Kaitlyn insisted that it wasn't true and that, regardless, Zach's getting along with her brother was extremely important to her. Then, Zach crossed the line. He, not so wisely, pointed out that Kyle made the wrong decision when admitting their parents to St. Mungo's and should have just "put them down" and out of their misery for the sake of everyone involved. That was when Kaitlyn tearfully raged that her parents were not farm animals, and called him an "inconsiderate son of a bitch", leaving the restaurant before Zach's temper caused a scene in public.

Kaitlyn had thought that suggesting drinks with Kyle had been a part of the huge apology she was still expecting from him in person. But apparently, something else, more important than her, had come up. Again. Kaitlyn wasn't sure why Zach always chose the most inopportune times to be a right arse when he was nothing but a sweetheart when Kyle was away.

By the time Kaitlyn arrived back at the table, she found someone sitting in Zach's seat – someone who wasn't Zach, if the flaming red hair was any indication.

"Hello, George," Kaitlyn greeted the Weasley twin with surprise, sliding two of the mugs in her hands over to Oliver and Kyle.

George flashed Kaitlyn a brilliant smile. "All right, Kaitlyn? I was just in the area picking up some supplies for some new products, and wanted to stop in for a moment to get warm. Ollie over here invited me to join you lot – I hope that's okay."

If Kaitlyn had been paying more attention, she would have noticed that slight uncertain edge in George's voice towards the end of his statement. She also would've noticed that George was drinking the mead that was meant for Zach. But instead, all she could focus on was keeping the blush that was threatening to spread across her cheeks in check. How was it, she wondered, that one smile from George Weasley could have such an enormous effect on her? Was she literally under someone's spell?

"Of course it's okay," Kaitlyn heard herself saying. "No one was sitting there anyway." She forced a smile over at George before burying her face into her mug, hoping that the dejected tone she'd held wasn't as noticeable to anyone else.

Unfortunately for the young witch, Kyle and Oliver had already filled George in on how Zach was, apparently, ditching Kaitlyn for what, Kyle suspected, was not the first time. The redhead studied Kaitlyn for a few moments longer before reaching over to steal a few chips off of her plate in an effort to steer her thoughts away from her rogue boyfriend.

"Hey!" Kaitlyn reacted appropriately, scowling over at George, who only smiled back at her.

"Sorry," he said with an innocent shrug. "I couldn't resist."

"Men," Kaitlyn huffed, though George caught a hint of a smile on her features.

"You love it," George retorted lightheartedly, stealing another chip from her plate before ducking his head and dodging the lame swing Kaitlyn attempted at him. Still, he chuckled and turned to Oliver and Kyle. "You should have made her try out for Quidditch. She's got a good arm on her."

"And give Hufflepuff a chance?" Kyle asked teasingly. "That wouldn't be right."

The three men laughed and, despite the fact that Kaitlyn was mildly offended, even she had to admit that Hufflepuff was truly rubbish at Quidditch most years; although, they had had a decent team a few times.

"Could we seriously try to _not__to_talk about Quidditch for more than ten minutes at a time?" Kaitlyn interjected, shaking her head at Oliver and Kyle especially.

Kyle immaturely stuck his tongue out at his younger sister and retorted, "Fine. We'll talk about it on our side of the table. You can talk about… whatever it is you talk about, if not Quidditch."

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes and took a long drink from her mug as George leaned on his elbow watching her. "How'd you get stuck with those two anyway? I find it hard to imagine anyone could truly want to be their third wheel."

It took every ounce of restraint for Kaitlyn to _not_ spit out the mead that was in her mouth.

"What?"

George raised an eyebrow at her. "You can't honestly tell me that you haven't noticed that Kyle and Oliver fancy each other."

"Well, I _noticed_of course. But you try and get my thick-headed brother to do anything that bold."

George looked contemplative for a moment before a mischievous grin slowly spread over his features. "Kaitlyn, dear," he said in an overdramatic voice. "It looks like everyone is out of their drink." He eyed all four mugs, despite the fact that three of them still had liquid in them. "Shall we get another round?"

George stood up before Kaitlyn could answer and tilted his head in the direction of the bar. Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow at the Weasley twin before casting a glance at Kyle and Oliver, who were very obviously flirting with each other and oblivious to everything else that was going on in the pub. Quickly making the decision that she would rather be almost anywhere else than be subjected to that kind of torture, Kaitlyn stood up as well, following George through the growing crowd to the bar.

"I've heard about you and your tricks, Weasley," Kaitlyn informed the older boy matter-of-factly.

George pretended to look offended. "I have no tricks." He put on his best innocent face, which made Kaitlyn laugh as they approached the bar.

_Score__one__for__Weasley,__negative__five__for__Smith,_George thought before he could stop himself.

Hastily banishing those thoughts from his mind, George turned to the witch at the bar and said, "Can I have four shots of Firewhiskey, miss?"

As the witch nodded, turning away to fill the order, Kaitlyn grabbed his arm. "_Firewhiskey_? Are you bloody out of your mind? They're going to be _smashed_!" After a pause, she added on, "_I__'__m_going to be smashed!"

George chuckled, quickly paying the witch, handing two of the shots over to Kaitlyn. "You have sick days at the Ministry, don't you?" He winked again before he could stop himself and meandered back to the table before Kaitlyn could respond.

Kaitlyn gaped for a moment after the redhead before quickly trying to keep up with his long strides without spilling the alcohol all over the place. George Weasley was full of surprises it seemed – and not of the negative variety that Zach appeared to be so fond of. Another burst of anger flared in her stomach at the thought of her so-called boyfriend. She was beginning to see why Kyle hated him so much. Kaitlyn couldn't _believe_ Zacharias.

She didn't have much time to fume though, because she soon found herself at the table, handing one of the Firewhiskey shots over to George, who had slid the two in his hands over to Oliver and Kyle.

"To our favourite Quidditch players who had the grace to visit us simpletons at home," George said cheekily, glancing over at Kaitlyn with a knowing smile.

She couldn't help but laugh, pushing any thoughts of Zacharias to the back of her mind once again. "Yeah, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to walk around with the two of you without getting stopped every few minutes!"

George raised his shot glass and Kaitlyn did the same, looking expectantly at Kyle and Oliver who were more than happy to take the toast.

"Cheers," Oliver said before downing the Firewhiskey, grimacing as the burning liquid slid down his throat.

George wrinkled his nose as the liquid went down his throat and risked a glance over at Kaitlyn, who had grabbed her mug of Mead and taken a few long sips from it to offset the burning sensation. He couldn't help but chuckle at that, thinking that it was, well, quite adorable.

_George_, he admonished himself. _What__are__you__doing?__You__aren__'__t__supposed__to__think__about__her__like__that.__She__has__a_boyfriend_for__goodness__sake._

_Yes,__a__bloody__terrible__boyfriend._

George heaved a sigh, trying to get the two voices in his head – the second one sounding suspiciously like Fred – to shut up. He was never really very good with women. That was always Fred's thing. Being the twin, George happened to reap the benefits easily.

"Let's do another," Kyle said, standing up and dragging Oliver along with him to get the next round of Firewhiskey.

Amused, Kaitlyn watched them leave before turning to George. "Do you see what you've started now?"

George shrugged. "They both need some liquid courage. Maybe something good will happen and Oliver can finally stop complaining about how he'll never find someone who can tolerate his love for Quidditch."

Kaitlyn burst out laughing, shaking her head. "I promise you, Kyle might even top his obsession."

"That's impossible," George retorted, nudging Kaitlyn with his shoulder as the two Quidditch players in question came back, setting down four additional shots of Firewhiskey.

The rest of the night was, well, a bit of a blur for all parties involved. At some point, George remembered grabbing Kaitlyn's arm and whispering in her ear that their plan was working. Sure enough, Oliver and Kyle were drunkenly talking, just a bit too close to be "just friends". Only a few minutes later – at least George thought it was just a few minutes, but he really couldn't be sure – Kyle announced that they were leaving. Kyle gave not-so-specific, drunken instructions to Kaitlyn about getting home before stumbling away after Oliver.

Kaitlyn giggled, turning back to George. "I guess I should find my way home as per big brother's orders." She blinked a few times as she said this because George's face was sliding in and out of focus.

Kaitlyn stood and promptly sat back down again. "Whoa."

George laughed, reaching out a hand to steady the younger girl. "Maybe finding your way home by yourself isn't such a good idea." He had to admit that he himself was feeling quite affected by the alcohol as well. But Kaitlyn was smaller than him and most likely had a much lower tolerance than he did, if her behavior was any indication.

"I guess Apparating back to Diagon Alley wouldn't be a good idea either." Kaitlyn giggled again.

She couldn't stop giggling. Every time she tried to stop herself, a new wave would erupt from the pit of her stomach. She had to admit that she quite liked it. It had been a long time since she'd had a bit of fun without worrying about what Zach would do. In fact, she was so intoxicated that, at that point, she had even forgotten that she had been ditched by her boyfriend earlier in the evening. However, she honestly couldn't find it in herself to care at the moment, because George was helping her up from her seat and his firm grip around her was more comforting than anything Zach had ever done for her.

George stopped to pick up the bag containing the supplies he'd come to Hogsmeade for in the first place, quickly shrinking them down so that they could fit in his pockets before turning back to the girl who was swaying slightly in his arms.

"Definitely not Apparating by yourself anyway," he agreed as he wrapped Kaitlyn's coat around her shoulders since the poor girl had seemingly forgotten she had brought one.

George carefully steered Kaitlyn through the crowd in the Three Broomsticks, forcing himself to sober up a little bit. He wasn't nearly as drunk as Kaitlyn was, but he was definitely not sober either. There was no way he was letting her Floo back to Diagon Alley. Who knew where she would come out if she didn't speak clearly enough? George did not fancy a beating from Kyle in the morning, nor did he feel comfortable allowing Kaitlyn to wander off on her own in the state she was in.

"Well," he muttered to himself, "I suppose this is the only way."

"Only way to what?" Kaitlyn asked curiously, a frown on her face as she tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

George looked down at the girl who was very much leaning on him for support and couldn't help but smile fondly at her. "Just hold onto my arm okay? We're going back to Diagon Alley."

Kaitlyn obliged, wrapping both of her hands around George's and holding on tightly as George instinctively imagined his flat in his mind.

With a loud _crack_, the two of them found themselves back in George's living room. George stood up, looking around for Kaitlyn, but the younger girl had already made her way to the closest receptacle she could find. Apparition never sat well with her after a few drinks, but tonight, she'd had more than just a few and the second they had landed, Kaitlyn felt the overwhelming sensation of regurgitation making its way up her throat.

Unfortunately, the closest place for Kaitlyn to empty her stomach was the kitchen sink. In a most ungraceful manner, the brunette heaved up everything she had drank and eaten that night. George both saw and heard this and only flinched for a second before rushing over to where she was.

"There, there." George patted her back, reaching for his wand to Accio a clean glass over to them. "Just get it all out, you'll feel much better."

After a few minutes, it all stopped and Kaitlyn groaned – half because she still wasn't feeling very well, and half because she was incredibly embarrassed. Even in the state she was in, she knew it was not only the least ladylike thing she could've done, but also that she had managed to vomit into one of the worst places: George's _sink_

"Oh, Merlin," Kaitlyn moaned as George's strong arms guided her carefully into a bedroom. The next thing she knew, a soft pillow was under her head. "I'm so sorry," Kaitlyn mumbled as George carefully took her shoes off for her, setting them to the side and placing a glass of water on the nightstand. "I should really clean it," she protested, trying to sit up.

George gently, but firmly, pushed Kaitlyn back onto the bed. "No, no. Please don't worry about it. Honestly, Kaitlyn. Just have some water, close your eyes and go to sleep."

Kaitlyn pouted slightly and sighed. "I'm so embarrassed. I can't believe I vomited all over your kitchen sink. And you're being so nice." She looked up at him with glassy, intoxicated eyes. "Why are you being so nice?"

George opened his mouth to respond, but Kaitlyn continued before he could say anything. "Zach would never do something like this for me. He'd say," Kaitlyn paused for a minute to mimic her boyfriend's voice, "'It's your fault for drinking so much anyway, Kait.'" She rolled her eyes. "And Merlin forbid I throw up anywhere, or on anything, that might be his."

If what Kaitlyn had been saying hadn't made George so angry, he would've laughed at the younger girl's attempt to mimic a man's voice. Instead, he soothingly pushed her hair back, sitting down on the edge of the bed the way he used to when Ginny was upset.

"Don't worry about Zach right now, okay?" George pulled the covers up to Kaitlyn's chin, making sure the corners were snuggly tucked around her body. "He's not even here right now to taunt you."

"Yes. He's… well, he's clearly doing something that's more important than I am, isn't he?" Kaitlyn muttered bitterly, her eyes fluttering shut anyway. "I wish he was as nice as you are."

George had to hold back any anger he was feeling for the sake of the girl lying in his bed. He could not believe what he was hearing. How could anyone treat someone as sweet as Kaitlyn the way Zacharias treated her? No girl, much less Kaitlyn, deserved that kind of treatment.

"Well." George tried for some humour to replace the rage he felt. "Not every girl can be so lucky."

Kaitlyn let out a giggle that turned into a yawn. "I suppose you're right." She paused for a moment and George had thought she'd fallen asleep, but she murmured out sleepily, "Thanks, George. You're the best." Then, she fell into a drunken slumber.

George watched her for a moment before brushing a stray strand of hair from her face and standing up, leaving the room quietly. It wasn't exactly how he'd imagined having a girl in his bed for the first time in almost a year, but George couldn't bring himself to care. He trudged back to the kitchen to clean up the mess, trying with all of his might to push thoughts of Zacharias from his mind. If he didn't, he was afraid he would try to find the bastard himself.

_Look__at__the__bright__side,__Georgie,_ Fred's voice rang out through his head for the second time that night. _Weasley:__at_least _ten;__Smith:__negative__ten_.

George rolled his eyes at himself – or was it Fred? – and took his wand out to begin cleaning. It was all he could do to keep his mind off of the night's events as well as where he was going to sleep.

After his kitchen was spotless, George finally had nothing else to distract him from the fact that the only bedroom left in the flat was Fred's old room. He looked towards the closed door, taking a step towards it before hesitating and turning around. He would sleep on the couch tonight.

George kicked his shoes off and flopped down onto the old, yet comfortable, couch, his exhaustion getting the best of him. That night, George Weasley dreamt of the brunette in his bedroom. It would be the best sleep he'd gotten in months.


	4. The Morning After

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, except for Kaitlyn and Kyle.

George was in the kitchen, pouring steaming coffee into a mug when Kaitlyn shyly made her way out of the bedroom. George looked up from what he was doing and gave her a smile, setting the cup of coffee down at the table, motioning for Kaitlyn to sit down.

"I made some coffee," he offered to her, reaching over to grab the potion he always kept on hand for mornings like this. He was certain Kaitlyn was going to need it.

Kaitlyn slowly sat down at the table, her cheeks bright red from the flush that had been creeping up her neck and across her face the moment she'd realized George knew of her presence in the room.

George poured a bit of the potion into the coffee and stirred it a bit, pushing the mug towards the brunette, "This stuff works wonders. You'll feel a lot better after you drink it." He assured her.

"I don't think anything could possibly make me feel better," Kaitlyn finally spoke, her voice soft but groggy from sleep.

George merely smiled at her, patting her shoulder before getting up to fix himself a cup of coffee as well. He could tell that Kaitlyn was embarrassed, and in an effort to keep her embarrassment to a minimum, George merely sat down at the table and read the post the store's owl had delivered.

"Sorry about your sink." Kaitlyn finally said softly, looking at George over her cup of coffee, "And…sorry for being so drunk last night."

George looked up from a letter that he was writing and gave Kaitlyn a reassuring smile, "Don't worry about it. It was practically my fault anyway for suggesting Firewhiskey in the first place."

Kaitlyn nodded a little bit, biting down on her lip. "Also…er…thanks. For taking me home, and putting me to bed…and for letting me sleep here."

"Again, don't worry about it." George sent the letter off with the owl and sat back in his chair, adding on as an afterthought, "By the way, you're not going to work today."

Kaitlyn looked taken aback, "I'm not?"

"I sent an owl in saying you were sick. I didn't think you were going to wake up this early." George said with a shrug, "I also sent an owl to your brother to let him know that you're here."

_And that absolutely nothing happened between us,_ George added in his head_._ George had felt it was necessary to add that point into his letter to Kyle. From what he had seen, and from what he knew being an older brother himself, George knew that Kaitlyn was no joking matter to the Quidditch player.

Kaitlyn groaned, burying her head in her arms, "Kyle's going to _kill_ me."

_And George,_ Kaitlyn thought, _he's going to murder us both! _Kaitlyn just couldn't imagine her older brother being okay with her spending the night at a boy's flat, even if he was as harmless as George Weasley.

"I wouldn't worry about it," George chuckled, "You worry too much, did anyone ever tell you that?" he teased, picking up a piece of parchment from the stack of letters, sliding it over to Kaitlyn. "Does that sound like he's going to kill you?"

Kaitlyn looked down at the letter in front of her, reading it over with surprise. Kyle thanked George for taking care of her, apologizing for not doing it himself, and offered to bring lunch to the shop later in the day. The letter ended, predictably, with a teasing threat of Avada Kedavra if he so much touched a hair on Kaitlyn's body.

"Weird." Kaitlyn commented, raising an eyebrow and sliding the letter back to its owner. "Thanks."

"Curious, isn't it? Bet you five Galleons something good happened with Oliver last night."

Kaitlyn's lips quirked up into a smile, "It would be about time. I'll just have to get all the juicy details from him later."

The pair sat in companionable silence as George continued to read through the letters for the shop, and Kaitlyn looked through the copy of the _Daily Prophet_ sitting on the table. After a few moments, Kaitlyn looked over the pages of the paper to watch George for a few moments. Last night had been an eye opener for the brunette. For the first time in a long time, she was the one being taken care of. She'd lost count of the amount of times she had to put a belligerently inebriated Zacharias to bed, assaulted with verbal insults and sometimes a little of Zach's vomit as well. Then she would stay up cleaning his messes and making sure he had water and potion for the next morning before she too could fall asleep. Whenever her boyfriend had enough drinks to be sufficiently drunk, it was bad news.

As though he read her thoughts, an owl dropped a letter through the kitchen window, pecking at the glass to be let in. George looked up from what he was doing and raised an eyebrow before going over to the window to let the owl in. He didn't recognize this particular owl, but that wasn't strange since several strangers sent letters about the shop. But when he picked the letter up, he realized it was addressed to Kaitlyn.

"It's for you." He said, sitting down at the table once more, and handing it over to Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn took it and looked down at the envelope and her eyes widened when she recognized Zacharias' handwriting. She stole a glance over at George, who had gone back to replying to the last of the letters he'd received, before opening the envelope slowly.

_Kaitlyn, _

_Where the bloody hell are you? I hope you are alright, wherever you are. I showed up at your flat this morning and no one was home. It was much too early for you to be going to work. _

_I was at my mum's last night. You know how she can be. She insisted I stay for dinner, and then time got away from me, and then when I got home to get ready to come meet with you, Justin and Ernie were hosting some new birds at the flat and they needed me to converse with the third one so they could pick up the other two. _

_Don't be angry. She was terribly annoying, and I tried to get away to send you an owl to let you know what was happening, but she just followed me everywhere. _

_I hope you didn't do anything stupid, Kait. Send Edgar back with your reply. _

_Yours, _

_Zach _

Kaitlyn heaved a sigh, forgetting where she was, and put the letter down. She didn't feel even a little bit better after reading the letter. In fact, she was pretty sure that she felt about a hundred times worse. It didn't explicitly say so in his words, but she knew that Zach was angry. She wasn't even sure why he was angry this time; he was the one who ditched her! What right did he have? And for what? So his friends could get laid?

"Everything okay?" George asked, having finished with his letters and was now going about getting ready to open up the shop. He had subtlety watched Kaitlyn's eyes scan the words of the letter, and saw how her face fell with each and every sentence she read. George had little to no doubt about who had sent the letter. From the short time he'd known Kaitlyn, he'd figured out that there was only one person who could change her emotions so drastically in such little time: Zacharias.

"Huh?" Kaitlyn looked up from the piece of parchment with a start, "Oh. Yeah. It's just…well, nothing really. Do you have a quill I could borrow?"

Kaitlyn didn't feel like getting another lecture from yet another person about how Zacharias wasn't being fair, or how she was letting him take advantage of her. Somewhere inside of her, she knew all of this was true. But she had never been able to let him go. Lately, though, Kaitlyn had felt more upset and resentful each and every time Zach tried to turn the tables on her. She knew she never did anything wrong, so why did he make her feel like everything was all her fault?

"Here you go."

George's voice broke Kaitlyn from her thoughts as he handed her a quill.

"Oh. Thanks."

"No problem," George replied, shrugging a jacket on, "I'll just be downstairs in the shop opening up. You can stay up here for as long as you like." He smiled at her and quickly headed downstairs, leaving Kaitlyn to her thoughts.

He knew, just by Kaitlyn's hesitance to tell him what was wrong, that his suspicious were correct. George also knew from what Oliver and Kyle told him that Kaitlyn got extremely defensive on all matters regarding her boyfriend. Being that he didn't know her all too well, George decided to butt out, even though he had a few choice words to say on the matter.

_It's none of your business._ He scolded himself as he moved a bunch of products from the storage room into the main room to be shelved.

_But you let her stay in your flat last night. You could've just brought her back to hers. You _fancy_ her._ Fred's voice rang through his head in the mocking tone they'd always used on each other when matters of the female sex were in question.

_Oh shut up. She would never leave Zacharias for me. She's completely devoted to him._

_Not if she keeps seeing how incredibly wonderful you are in comparison._

George was relieved when someone walked into the store. He had a feeling he was going to need plenty of distractions to keep him from hearing his dead twin's voice in his head. It didn't occur to him that he should be a bit more concerned that he was hearing Fred's voice at all – in his head of all places. In a way, it was a comforting reminder that things might end up okay after all. George quickly shelved the rest of the products on the floor and headed to the front of the store.

"Oliver Wood," he greeted, "To what do I owe this humbling visit? Say, do you think I could get your autograph and use it for a future product? I was thinking of a great prank – Disappearing Autographs! Of course I'd have to think of a better name…"

Oliver raised an eyebrow at George and just shook his head, "I don't know if you'll sell any of those with my autograph, mate. Maybe Krum's though." He leaned against the counter and continued, "I'm just dropping by on my way to visit my mum. How was the rest of your night last night? I kind of lost track of what was going on with you halfway through the night."

"Kind of?" George teased, doing a quick count in the register before looking up at his friend, "You were highly distracted by a certain Chaser if I remember correctly. I think the more important question here, Ollie, is how the rest of _your_ night went."

Oliver flushed bright red, which George took great pleasure in seeing. He didn't think he'd been able to make Oliver this uncomfortably embarrassed since their days at Hogwarts at Quidditch practice. He and Fred used to cause Oliver all kinds of trouble with the girls on the team. This was, of course, before he came out of the closet. Afterwards, the twins caused Oliver plenty of trouble with literally every member of the team. Just the memory of this brought a smile to George's face, and if George wasn't enjoying the stuttering Oliver had been reduced to, he would have realized that for the first time, smiling about Fred's memory didn't feel so wrong.

"It went fine." Oliver finally managed to say, shoving George's shoulder across the counter.

"Fine? How fine exactly did it go? Come on, Wood. I don't hear gossip like this anymore – everyone's gotten so bloody _boring_ with their stable relationships and whatnot." George said overdramatically with a roll of his eyes. He leaned on the counter with his chin in his hands, innocently batting his eyelashes at Oliver, "So. You and Kyle Thompson, huh?"

Oliver seemed to battle with his emotions for a few seconds, as though debating with himself what he should say. Finally, he gave in.

"Oh, alright. I don't know what's going on with us. I think I've fancied him since the day he stopped the Chudley Canons from scoring that goal on us a few months ago."

George couldn't stop the snort of laughter that escaped when he heard this – of course it was Quidditch related.

"Shut up." Oliver chided, turning bright red again. "Anyway, he's been hung up over his ex for…well, forever, really. And I just didn't think I had much of a chance. I mean, his ex was pretty horrible. He wouldn't come out of the closet because of his family, and ended up being a dark wizard anyway. He turned most of the Slytherin house against Kyle. It was a rough seventh year for the bloke."

George raised an eyebrow, "That sounds like something Malfoy would do."

"Well…" Oliver looked slightly uncomfortable at that, clearing his throat before finally saying, "funny thing is, it _was_ Malfoy. But," Oliver continued before George could get over the shock and say something, "he does realize that he's much better off without him."

"Everyone in the world is better off without the Malfoys. Unfortunately, they seem to still be around." George said with a shake of his head, "But I mean, it's not Kyle's fault that he couldn't see that Malfoy's a git. We all have momentary lapses in judgment."

Oliver laughed and continued with his story, "Yeah. Well, anyway, we talked a little more about how he thinks he's ready to move on from him finally. He was pretty sloshed, mate. But he did say in the morning that he still meant it."

"Wait," George interrupted, "in the _morning_?"

"Oh come off it," Oliver retorted with another blush, "Nothing happened. Well…we may have snogged for a bit."

"I KNEW IT!" George said triumphantly, throwing his hands in the air with a huge grin on his face. He slowly walked around the counter to get closer to Oliver, who had let out a groan. "Oliver and Kyle," George sing-songed.

But before he could get any further, Oliver cuffed him, his face as red as George's hair, and muttered, "Shut up, Weasley."

"Aw Ollie…" George cooed, "Don't be embarrassed – this is great, really. You've found someone who might even be _more_ obsessed with Quidditch than you, and I never thought that would be possible. And now that you're sufficiently distracting him, Kyle might not even notice…" George trailed off, realizing that his mouth had spoken before he could think – again. He really had to stop doing that.

Now, it was Oliver's turn to round on George, "Notice what?" he said, face returning to its normal colour.

"Nothing." George said quickly.

"Nope. I know what it is." Oliver said with a big smirk on his face. George wished so badly he could take back what he'd allowed to slip. Oliver would have none of it though. Instead, he continued on, "_You_, George Weasley, fancy a certain former Hufflepuff who already has a boyfriend!"

"Who is a bloody awful git!" George interjected, without meaning to. He immediately slapped his hand over his mouth and let out a muffled groan before turning to Oliver with a frown, "Did you slip Veritiserum to me?"

Oliver only chuckled with an amused shake of his head.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." Oliver said, still laughing, "But I do agree with you. He is pretty awful."

"He owl'd her this morning." George said grumpily. "And before you say it, nothing happened last night. She was absolutely smashed and so I let her sleep in my room. I was on the couch." He said, giving Oliver a look, glancing over his shoulder towards the stairs to make sure that Kaitlyn wasn't coming down, "You know I wouldn't cross Kyle like that. The bloke's bloody terrifying. Besides, she's far too dedicated to Zacharias. Anyway, she woke up this morning, embarrassed, and then received an owl from the arse."

"Well you know what you have to do, don't you?" Oliver said very seriously.

"Oliver, I can't go around trying to win over a girl who doesn't fancy me back." George rolled his eyes, heading back to the counter to sit down on the stool he had by the register.

"Yes you can. You need to show her that you're so much better than that bloke she's with who breaks appointments with her, constantly makes her cry and drive her brother nuts. C'mon Weasley, you had no problem doing that in school."

George vaguely thought that Oliver said exactly what Fred would've said to him, had he been alive. He heaved a sigh, though and shook his head, glancing cautiously towards the stairs again. "I just can't. This is different."

"Why? Because you actually fancy her?" At George's hesitation to answer, Oliver continued, "Look, I promise you that Kyle would so much rather have _you_ around than Zacharias. That's hurdle number one, isn't it?"

George reluctantly nodded, "But it's not even the biggest hurdle. Let me remind you: She doesn't even fancy me back."

"You don't know that. You just think that because Zacharias is in the picture. But honestly, how did she react to his letter? Was she happy, excited even?"

"Well…not exactly." George admitted, shrugging, "First, she seemed worried, but then she read it and she just seemed upset. I didn't ask, kind of just left her to write back and told her she was welcome to stay as long as she wanted to."

"Just keep being your charming self, Weasley. I think you're a lot closer than you think." Oliver said with a reassuring pat on the shoulder. He straightened up and looked around the shop before turning back to George, "Well, I'll see you later. I really should go otherwise my mum will send a Howler over here." He rolled his eyes, and sent a wave over his shoulder at George before he left the store.

George watched Oliver's retreating back, shaking his head slightly before turning back to his list of things to do. But hard as he tried, he couldn't focus on it. Could Oliver actually have a good point? It was reassuring to know that Oliver didn't think Kyle would be all too opposed if George were to go out with Kaitlyn; however, it seemed to be the least of his problems. Of course the girl he, admittedly, fancied – maybe a little – was already committed to another bloke. Even if he did happen to be the worst.

Shaking his head, George tried to focus on his work. But he got distracted, yet again, by a piece of parchment sticking out of one of the drawers behind the counter. Absentmindedly, George picked it out of the drawer and unfolded it. Almost immediately, he wished he hadn't done so. It was a list of potential products that they could start developing, clearly written in Fred's handwriting. George knew this list well. In fact, he had been avoiding it for some time now, trying to think of new products on his own. He was lucky that witches and wizards everywhere were not yet tired of the products WWW already had because George hadn't come up with a single new product that he thought marketable in the past year. It was hard to without someone to bounce ideas off of. That's how he and Fred used to come up with such brilliant ideas.

George sighed, pushing the parchment away from him and rubbed his eyes tiredly. How was it only half past ten in the morning? This was going to be a long day.

"George?" a soft, timid voice shook George from his staring contest with the parchment.

The red head looked up to see Kaitlyn standing there, her coat in one hand and a sheepish smile on her face, "Sorry, were you in the middle of something?"

George shook his head and managed a smile for her, "No, it's alright. Everything okay?"

Kaitlyn just nodded, "I was just cleaning up your room and putting away the dishes. It was the least I could do to thank you for…everything last night."

"Oh." George said in surprise, "You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to." Kaitlyn assured him, leaning on the counter, "Are those ideas for new products?" she asked, pointing at the piece of parchment.

George was visibly uncomfortable and Kaitlyn picked up on this, immediately interjecting, "Oh. I'm sorry. If it's personal…I mean I really shouldn't have pried…" She blushed slightly as she said this, biting down on her lip and stepping back from the counter a bit, as though George needed space.

"No…it's…it's okay. It was just…these were all Fred's ideas. We had a brainstorm before he…well…" George finally said, his voice wavering the slightest bit.

Kaitlyn nodded slowly in understanding, "Right." She finished for him so he didn't have to say the dreaded word. Kaitlyn couldn't help but feel incredibly sorry for the man in front of her. She couldn't imagine losing Kyle, and he wasn't even her twin. Kaitlyn took a tentative step forward and reached out to put a hand on George's shoulder, "You know," she said gently, "it would be pretty cool if his ideas came to life. You could have a whole…section of the store or something, in his memory."

"I…" George suddenly found it very hard to speak, but when Kaitlyn squeezed his shoulder gently, she took in a deep breath and forged on anyway, "I don't know if I could handle that. Not yet."

He expected Kaitlyn to tell him that he had to move on sometime, that Fred wouldn't want him to be like this, that now was as good a time as any. But instead, she only nodded, leaning against the counter, and said, "Well, just a thought for another time, perhaps."

Surprised, George looked up to meet Kaitlyn's eyes. She smiled at him and seemed to contemplate her next words carefully before she said softly, "When my parents were admitted to St. Mungo's, I thought it was my duty to visit them everyday. They were hexed and driven to insanity that same night." Kaitlyn looked away from George and focused on the parchment with Fred's ideas instead. She took in a breath as she continued, "They…they're not dead, and I am grateful for that everyday. But they have no idea who I am, or who Kyle is. They can't speak. They just lie there; sometimes they smile. It's when they smile that I have the most hope. But I…I can't visit them everyday anymore. I can't handle that either. Not yet."

Kaitlyn offered George a smile and leaned down to give him a hug. It was a bold move, for Kaitlyn, but she felt compelled to. He looked so sad, and she just wanted him to see that it was okay that he wasn't over Fred being gone.

"I'm sorry." George said, his voice barely above a whisper. He pulled back from Kaitlyn and looked at her, biting down on his lip.

"Me too." Kaitlyn said with a sad smile, "I'm not ready to see my parents all the time. It makes me feel guilty. But I'm just not ready. You aren't ready to publicly memorialize Fred. That's okay. You have to let yourself believe that it's okay."

George merely nodded, taking in Kaitlyn's words and realizing that she was probably right. He was sure that several other people had tried to tell him this before, but something about the way she'd said it made much more sense to George than it ever had.

Kaitlyn gave George one last squeeze to the shoulder before stepping back and sliding her coat on, "I should get going. I've got to get things straightened out with Zach…"

"Oh. Er…alright. But Kaitlyn?"

The brunette braced herself for the lecture she was sure was coming, "Yes?"

"Just be careful." George finally said, after a mental battle with himself on how to say it without coming off as overbearing or annoying.

Kaitlyn flushed slightly and gave George a smile, "I will. See you later."

And with that, Kaitlyn Apparated away, leaving George feeling strangely content with how his day was panning out.


	5. Discovery

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, except for Kaitlyn and Kyle.

Kaitlyn waved her wand, trying out a spell that Hannah Abbott had taught her in her fourth year, in an attempt to fix the rogue pieces of hair that wouldn't stay clipped up. After playing around with her hair for several more minutes, Kaitlyn was finally satisfied with the way she looked. She had spent the better part of the day preparing Zach's favourite dinner and was now getting ready to pack it up to bring over to his flat.

"Whoa," Kyle's voice exclaimed from the living room as Kaitlyn passed him on her way to the kitchen. "Special occasion?"

Kaitlyn laughed as she used her wand to cool the casserole dish that had just come out of the oven. "No, just a peace offering. Don't even start." Kaitlyn added the last part as an afterthought, throwing Kyle a look of warning.

Kyle merely rolled his eyes in response and pouted. "Well, what am _I _supposed to do if you're going to Smith's?"

"I don't know. Maybe you could go see Oliver," she said with a smirk as she cast a charm to keep the dinner warm while she transported it to Zach's flat.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you about that. I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Kyle grumbled.

"Oh, please," Kaitlyn scoffed. "I would've known about it eventually. George would've told me," she said matter-of-factly. "It _was _his idea anyway. He figured you guys needed a little push."

"Yeah? Perhaps he could give you a little push towards breaking up with Zacharias," Kyle retorted.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Kyle said innocently, standing up and going to the kitchen himself to see what his options were for supper.

Kaitlyn eyed him suspiciously for a moment before turning around to slide her coat on over the dress robes she was wearing. "I don't think I want to know," she finally decided, picking up the casserole dish. Kaitlyn walked up to Kyle and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you later. Don't wait up for me."

Kyle grumbled in reply and Kaitlyn could only smile, concealing her wand quickly before Apparating over to Zacharias' flat. Kyle watched her go and rolled his eyes. Why Kaitlyn felt she needed to make dinner and get dressed up for the git was beyond him. She should have waited for him to come to her with a massive apology.

Kyle heaved a sigh and looked around the flat, deciding that he had better find something to amuse himself with, or his night was bound to end early. Maybe he _would _see Oliver after all.

Kyle's stomach gave a little flip at the thought of the Keeper, a feeling he hadn't experienced in quite awhile. Even though he realized that he had been totally set up by George and Kaitlyn the previous night, Kyle couldn't bring himself to be the slightest bit angry. It had turned out to be a really fun night and he was glad that he and Oliver ended up confessing, albeit very drunkenly, that they had some sort of mutual attraction to each other. Kyle wasn't sure where it would go, since he was sure they would have to deal with the consequences of playing on the same Quidditch team and whatnot, but the young Chaser found that he didn't particularly care. He was content with how things stood at the moment, and he supposed that was all that mattered.

He wished the same could be said of his sister. Oliver had hinted to him the previous night that, perhaps, the lone Weasley twin might fancy Kaitlyn. From every point where Kyle was concerned, anyone was better than Zacharias, and the fact that George had taken care of his sister when he didn't have to won more points with Kyle in one night than Zacharias had ever won in the past three years. It was a shame that Kaitlyn was still so taken with him.

"I've got to stop thinking about this," Kyle muttered aloud to himself, making the decision that he should go out and find some company, so he wouldn't spend all night analyzing his younger sister's relationship. With that thought, the elder Thompson Apparated out of the flat and to the first place he could think of: Oliver's flat.

After Kaitlyn had left her home, she landed, slightly dizzy, in front of Zach's flat door. She quickly did a self-check to make sure her hair was still perfect and that her dress robes weren't wrinkled. Finally sure that she looked presentable, Kaitlyn raised her hand and knocked gently on the door. She waited for a few moments, fidgeting with the casserole dish in her arms, but no one came to let her in. With a frown on her face, Kaitlyn knocked once more, a bit harder this time. After a few more moments, the door swung open to reveal Justin Finch-Fletchley, one of Zach's flat mates.

"Hello, Kaitlyn." He seemed surprised to see her, which made Kaitlyn apprehensive, but she pushed the feeling to the back of her mind.

"Hello, Justin. Is Zach home?"

The boy in front of her looked uncomfortable and shook his head in a negative, "Er… "

Kaitlyn sighed. "Do you know, by chance, where he might have gone? I sent him an owl earlier this morning telling him to keep his dinner plans free so that we could finally spend some time together. He said he would be here."

Justin still looked incredibly uncomfortable and Kaitlyn realized that Zacharias must have told Justin not to say anything to her about his whereabouts. It wouldn't be the first time he forced his flat mates to lie on his behalf. It caused that apprehensive feeling, which Kaitlyn had pushed away just moments prior, to re-surface once again. Still, she forged on in her inquiry.

"I know you know where he is, Justin," Kaitlyn finally said flatly.

Justin finally gave in. "I'm sorry, Kait." He looked at her, guilt written all over his face. "It's just he… bloody hell, I can't do this." He said the last part to himself, before shaking his head and looking Kaitlyn in the eye, blurting out, "None of us know why you're with him."

"_Excuse me?_"

"Well, it's just… " Justin sighed. "He's my mate and all, but even Ern and I can see that he's always being a right arse to you. He told us that you would be stopping by, and to tell you that we had no idea where he was. But we do and I can't just _not_ tell you. You've been so nice to all of us, always making us supper and bringing nice gifts over, and Zach always just treats you like _shit_."

Kaitlyn listened as her former schoolmate rambled on and on, knowing with each passing second that she probably didn't want to know where Zach was. In fact, she had a feeling that once she found out, she would regret ever wanting to know. Nevertheless, Kaitlyn interrupted Justin, her voice coming out with a slight quiver, "Justin, tell me where he is."

"Okay," Justin finally relented after a long pause. "But please don't tell him I told you… "

"I won't," Kaitlyn promised.

"He's… he's out in Hogsmeade… with a girl he met last night."

Kaitlyn felt like Justin had just punched her in the gut. She stared at him, fighting to keep her expression neutral, even though she felt like screaming and crying and maybe hitting something all at the same time. Her stomach was churning and she felt a mixture of nausea and rage; she couldn't decide which one it was. But she fought herself to remain calm. After all, she could not give Zacharias the satisfaction of getting to her like this. She suspected that this was something he prided himself in being able to do: humiliating her.

"Kait?" Justin asked hesitantly, unsure of what to do next. He had betrayed his friend in telling Kaitlyn the truth, but he didn't feel badly about it; Justin felt worse for the girl standing in front of him.

Kaitlyn shook her head, suddenly finding it very difficult to breathe properly. She forced herself to take in a deep breath, and gave Justin a tight smile. "Thank you, Justin." At the boy's surprised and mildly terrified look, she continued, fighting to keep her voice steady, "For telling me the truth. I'll be going now. Have a good night."

With that, Kaitlyn turned on her heel and walked away. The frigid temperatures outside went unnoticed by the brunette as she wandered around Diagon Alley. She considered just Apparating home a few times, but she didn't know if Kyle would be there, and she refused to be humiliated again tonight, even if it was just by her older brother. _All dressed up_, Kaitlyn thought bitterly, _and all I've got to show for it is a dirty bastard for a boyfriend and a bloody homemade Sheppard's Pie._ _Guess it serves me right for hanging on to such a piece of shit for so long_._ Everyone was right. How could I be so blooming stupid? I hope someday he hurts as much as he's hurt me._

The dusting of snow on the ground began to blur beneath Kaitlyn's feet, but she quickly blinked, fighting to keep her tears at bay. It was a particularly nasty gust of wind that brought Kaitlyn out of her miserable thoughts and back to reality. She was shivering, she noticed, and when she clutched the casserole dish a little tighter, she also realized that her fingers had started to become numb. She looked up to take in her surroundings and realized she had a ways to go before she would reach her flat. She had walked in the opposite direction of it upon leaving Zach's. But despite the cold, Kaitlyn still didn't want to go home as yet; she just didn't think she was ready to face Kyle. She'd been humiliated once tonight, she didn't need another embarrassing lecture about how terribly _wrong _she'd been about Zacharias.

"Kaitlyn?" a vaguely familiar voice startled Kaitlyn, causing her to gasp. "Sorry," he chuckled, "didn't mean to scare you."

Kaitlyn turned around slowly to see that it was George Weasley. "Oh. Hello, George." She couldn't muster up the energy to try and sound cheerful.

"What are you doing out here?" George asked, fumbling with one arm to retrieve his wand and unlock the door while balancing a large paper bag in the other. "It's freezing! Come in and warm up."

Kaitlyn, desperate to go anywhere that wasn't her flat, obliged readily, following George into Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. She welcomed the warmth that enveloped her the moment she stepped inside.

"Thanks," she said to George, placing the casserole dish she had been holding on the counter. "What are you up to?" Kaitlyn wanted to make sure the conversation was steered away from her for as long as possible.

George motioned for Kaitlyn to follow him into the back room of the shop, where he set down the bag he had been holding. "I was just getting a few last minute ingredients that I'll need to try out some new things. I'd like to release a new product while the Hogwarts kids are on holiday." He straightened back up, flicking his wand to place the items that he'd purchased on their respective shelves.

"Oh," Kaitlyn said, nodding along with him. "That's a busy time for you, isn't it?"

George nodded. "Anytime Hogwarts is on holiday is a ridiculously busy time for the shop. Kids need to stock up, you know." He grinned over at Kaitlyn, walking back out into the main part of the store. He turned to Kaitlyn, asking her, "What are you doing out tonight?"

Kaitlyn just shrugged. "Out for a stroll," she replied, coming up with the first excuse she could think of, which, even in Kaitlyn's opinion, was pretty pathetic.

George raised an eyebrow, looking at her done up hair and the dish that sat on the counter, as well as the dress robes Kaitlyn was wearing. "You were out for a stroll," he began dryly, "looking like you were about to go to a ball in sub zero temperatures? Kaitlyn, I'm not _stupid_."

Kaitlyn blushed and looked down at her shoes – her nicest pair of heels – and closed her eyes, not really sure of how she should explain to George that she was not only stood up again by her boyfriend, but that said boyfriend was also in the midst of _cheating _on her at the moment. At the thought of that ridiculous statement, Kaitlyn let out what sounded like half of a laugh and half of a sob, her hand clamping over her mouth as the well finally broke and tears finally threatened to spill over.

George didn't miss a beat. It had only been that morning that he had seen Kaitlyn, and last he knew she was getting ready to spend some time with Zacharias. It didn't take an Auror to know that her current state was most likely directly related to the prat.

"Kaitlyn?" he asked gently, taking a cautious step towards her.

The brunette violently shook her head and George froze where he was. She was clearly on the brink of hysterics and he didn't want to provoke her any further. The need to breathe was the catalyst Kaitlyn needed. She took in a gasping breath and, unable to hold back any longer, started to bawl. She had been holding this back for hours by now, trying to tell herself to be angry instead. Zach didn't deserve her tears, she'd told herself. But it was to no avail. She was disgraced by someone who was never supposed to disgrace her, hurt by someone who was supposed to love her, and embarrassed in a way she didn't think even Pansy Parkinson could embarrass her. And worst of all? Everyone had told her so.

George, who had never been very good at dealing with girls when they were crying, stood awkwardly for a moment before he quickly sprang into action, doing the first thing that came to his mind. He grabbed the stool from behind the counter and placed it in front of Kaitlyn, gently guiding her into a seated position. This only made Kaitlyn cry harder, and George was at a loss for what to do next.

"You know," he began uneasily, wracking his brain for a good solution, "I should really go tell your brother to come and get you safely home…"

"No!" Kaitlyn objected immediately through her tears. "Please. Please don't do that."

Reluctantly, George nodded and knelt down in front of the still crying girl, gently prying her hands away from her face. "Alright," he said softly. "I won't go get Kyle. But… what's happened? Are you hurt?"

Kaitlyn shook her head, trying to hide her face again.

George frowned, letting go of Kaitlyn's hands so that she could go back to sobbing into them and tried to remember what Bill would do when Fleur was upset.

_Hug her, you dolt,_ Fred's voice said indignantly in his head, making its first appearance since this morning.

George's eyes widened. _Really?_ He was afraid to touch her, as though afraid she would physically break if he did. It wasn't his place, he barely knew her.

_But you care about her. Just stop thinking and comfort her, _the voice commanded.

George bit down on his lip, shuffling a little bit closer to the younger girl. He awkwardly put his long arms around Kaitlyn and pulled her closer to him, rubbing her back as he did so. He remembered seeing Harry do that once when Ginny was crying. It seemed to work because the brunette had leaned into George's touch instead of pushing him away. Her sobs became more muffled and less hysterical as she began to calm down, her salty tears making two large spots on George's jumper. He cast a glance at the door and shifted so that one of his hands could take hold of his wand to bring the blinds on the store's windows down, giving Kaitlyn more privacy.

George couldn't be sure how long they sat like that before Kaitlyn's sobs subsided to hiccups and her gasps to a more regular breathing pattern. He didn't mind at all; he was just concerned. He saw the way she cried that night when everyone was over at her flat, but as he'd gotten to know her, he'd come to think of her as a fairly happy person. It was shocking to see her completely break down like this, and George only wanted to make it all better, but he didn't want to make her upset again by asking what had happened. Last time he did that, she only started to cry, and that was the last thing George wanted.

He did have to admit, albeit selfishly, that it was nice to have Kaitlyn in his arms. She was nestled against his body, her head against his chest and George couldn't help but feel like he wanted to protect her from anything and everything.

_She's upset and all you can think about is how nice it feels to hold her? Blimey, _George reprimanded himself.

_Can't be helped, brother. You fancy her. That's what happens when you fancy someone, you know, _Fred's increasingly annoying voice teased.

_Would you just shut up for a minute? _George silently argued with him.

_Can't do that, I'm afraid. You'd be a bumbling idiot if I wasn't around to tell you what to do. _

Before George could come up with a thought to retaliate – he was only vaguely aware of how pathetic it was that he was having silent arguments with his dead twin in his head – Kaitlyn sniffled and brought George back to the present situation. He loosened his grip on Kaitlyn when he felt her lift her head and swipe at her face with the back of her hand. She bit down on her lip and looked up at George through her still moist eyelashes.

"I'm sorry," Kaitlyn apologized in a soft voice.

George gave her what he hoped was a gentle smile and shook his head ever so slightly, unconsciously reaching out to brush a few stray tears from Kaitlyn's cheeks. He leaned back so that he could look at her and said honestly, "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Kaitlyn let out a choked laugh. "You're too nice."

"No." George shook his head, choosing his next words carefully. "I just think that, perhaps, you are not used to being treated well."

Kaitlyn looked at him for a moment, and George was afraid that he pushed the issue too far; however, the brunette only looked away.

This encouraged George to continue. "Kaitlyn… " He gently untangled himself from her, having only realized at that moment that he was still holding her, and frantically tried to come up with something to say. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn's puffy eyes and splotchy cheeks only brought to George's attention just how incredibly sad she looked. And despite all of this, George couldn't help but notice that she still looked absolutely beautiful.

_Come on, you git. Think of something to say to her!_ His subconscious was ruthless. George desperately searched for something – anything – to say that might make things better, although he had no idea what happened. Fortunately, Kaitlyn spoke before he had to ask about what had happened.

"Everyone was right," she whispered, still refusing to look up, instead staring at the burn mark on the floor as though it were the most fascinating thing in the world.

George conjured a few tissues and handed them over to Kaitlyn as he asked, "About what?" He was pretty sure he knew exactly "what", but he didn't want to make Kaitlyn more upset than she already was. George wasn't very sure about many things in his life, but at the moment he was positive of two things: first, that Kaitlyn was okay; second, that the burning sensation in the pit of his stomach was _not _jealousy, but absolute rage. Whatever he'd done, George silently promised himself that Zacharias would pay for it.

"Zacharias," Kaitlyn said finally, looking up at George with tears still shining in her eyes. She considered him carefully, wondering if she should tell him about what had happened. Kaitlyn was feeling so many different emotions, sadness and anger being two of the most prominent. But it was how Zacharias had absolutely humiliated her that hurt Kaitlyn the most. Everyone, _literally everyone_, Kaitlyn knew had told her countless times that Zacharias wasn't good for her. How many times had Kyle warned her? She knew the moment everyone found out about what had happened, they'd have to bite their tongues to keep the "I told you so" from coming out. Thinking back on it now, Kaitlyn couldn't believe how undeniably blind she had been; all signs pointed to Zacharias cheating on her. And now? Now she was the one crying over it and Zach was out having fun, with not a care about her. Why did she let this happen?

"I feel so stupid," she finally said aloud, wiping her eyes with the tissues George had handed her.

George frowned. "You shouldn't."

"But I am," Kaitlyn insisted, the floodgates of rage now opening. "I'm _so _stupid. Everyone knew he was awful and they all told me. Kyle, Hermione, even Ron had mentioned something about it when he was at the office last week. But I was just so… _stupid_. All those times he was late, all those times he just didn't show up. Every time he was completely insensitive to mum and dad's condition. I should've known. He was never telling the truth, was he? Hell, every time he encouraged me to visit St. Mungo's was insincere. He just wanted time. Time away from me so he could do whatever he bloody well wanted to do! And every time we fought was even a lie. It was _never _about us. It was about _him. _Every bloody _fucking _thing was about him," Kaitlyn scoffed, angry with Zach and angry with herself. She was standing now, pacing the floor in front of the shop's counter. "I bloody well deserved this for being so blind."

"That is _not _true," George cut in, stopping Kaitlyn. He was taken aback by Kaitlyn's outburst; he had never heard Kaitlyn raise her voice, much less curse. But he was more shocked by how much she blamed herself. He stood up and put his hand on Kaitlyn's shoulder to stop her from pacing and looked her in the eye. "Listen to me." He paused to make sure she made eye contact with him. "Whatever Zacharias did, you didn't deserve it. Sure, people may have told you how awful he is; I've definitely thought it before. But no one, and I mean _no one_, can fault you for standing up for him. You are an amazingly loyal girlfriend. You're not stupid. This isn't your fault. It's Smith's fault for being so bloody idiotic. Any bloke would be lucky to have a girlfriend as awesome as you are."

Kaitlyn felt her cheeks heat up, feeling slightly better after hearing George's compliments and grateful that she didn't receive a lecture from him instead. "Oh, stop it. You're being far too generous."

"Well, I always was the nicer twin," George conceded playfully, his encouraging smile wavering only slightly as he realized his unconscious Fred reference.

Kaitlyn's lips quirked up into a small smile and retorted, "I don't know… Fred used to drive all my housemates into a fit of giggles every time he walked by… "

"I never said I was the more _charming _twin. Just the nicer one," George explained matter-of-factly.

At this, Kaitlyn laughed. It was a good release, even better than crying had been. Laughing when her boyfriend was out there somewhere seeing another girl behind Kaitlyn's back seemed almost satisfying to her. It was as though her body was telling her that she was going to be just fine without Zacharias.

George, too, felt a sense of satisfaction when Kaitlyn started to laugh. He knew that he hadn't actually said anything that was extraordinarily funny, but it was nice to see a smile on Kaitlyn's face again, especially after she had been in hysterics merely minutes before. George wondered what else he could say to make that smile come back. There had to be something, perhaps, that could take her mind off of her rogue boyfriend and remind her that not all men were terrible.

_What are you doing, you prat? Pay attention to her! _Fred's voice rang through his head. Almost immediately, George looked over at Kaitlyn, who was asking him something.

"Er… sorry?" George stammered, feeling his cheeks heat up to match the color of his hair.

Kaitlyn shook her head with a wavering smile, dismissing George's apology, and repeated, "I was just asking if you were hungry." She tilted her head in the direction of the long-forgotten casserole dish. "It's just… I made this whole meal. And well, now I've got no one to share it with and I don't really want to just toss it… "

"I'm starved," George cut in, even though he had eaten dinner only two hours earlier. "What's on the menu?" He knew he had said the right thing when Kaitlyn's face lit up, reminding him of the way Ginny used to get excited when the boys allowed her to play Quidditch with them.

"I made Sheppard's Pie."

Kaitlyn walked over to the dish and pulled her wand out, muttering a charm at it so the cold dish could heat up again for them.

"Are you a good cook? Because my mum's Sheppard's Pie is literally the best Sheppard's Pie I've ever eaten." George motioned for Kaitlyn to follow him into the back room of the shop where he had a small table set up. He pulled another chair up to the table and motioned for her to sit in it while he retrieved a couple of plates and silverware with his wand.

Kaitlyn shrugged, looking around as George served the Shepard's Pie. "I'm no competition for the legendary Molly Weasley," she answered honestly. "But I'm alright."

The pair ate in companionable silence for the better part of the meal, Kaitlyn only asking a few times about some items in the storage area of the room. She was fascinated by the shop and kept prompting George to talk more about it. George found it strange to be talking about the shop in this way. Hardly anyone ever asked him about it other than the casual, "How's the shop doing?" He knew it was because they were afraid it would set him off. And in the past, it really had. The shop's inner workings were still a topic of conversation he tended to shy away from because it would lead to talking about Fred.

But, for some reason, talking about Fred didn't seem like such a bad idea to George when he was around Kaitlyn. For some unexplainable reason, George didn't choke up as much and he didn't get as angry when she threw him sympathetic glances through his stories. Perhaps it was because Kaitlyn never pretended to know what he was going through. Or maybe it was because she didn't make him feel like it was wrong to still be mourning his twin's death.

"I… started to work on a new product," George said in a shy manner that Kaitlyn could tell was not typical of the redhead. He had been explaining to her why one particular corner of the room was a bit of a mess.

Kaitlyn leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands, intrigued. "Oh, really? What's it going to be?"

George glanced over to the area where he had been experimenting earlier in the day and bit down on his lip. "Well… I'm kind of having trouble getting it to work the way… the way that Fred had imagined it to be."

George didn't have to say anything else for Kaitlyn to realize that this was one of the ideas Fred had come up with on that piece of paper George had been looking at that morning. Now that she was calmer and her problems were pushed further from the top of her mind, Kaitlyn noticed how tired George looked. She followed his gaze over to the table where the abandoned experiment lay, knowing that it'd taken everything in George to start working on one of Fred's products.

"What's it supposed to do?" Kaitlyn asked gently, reaching across the table to put her hand on George's arm.

George didn't move when he felt Kaitlyn's warm hand on him. He was feeling a bit confused. His skin was tingling where her hand lay, and yet, he couldn't help but feel as though he was betraying Fred for telling someone else about it. They had always kept their products a secret until they had tested their effects on each other several times. He felt like he could trust Kaitlyn with information like this, but there was a part of him that desperately clung to the belief that this shop and all its products belonged to him and Fred.

_It's not a crime to move on, Forge. _Fred's voice was back. George scrunched up his nose and took in a deep breath.

_I mean it, George, _Fred continued as though George had responded. _She's good for you. If you were going to tell anyone about the things going on with new products, I'm glad it's her. You're going to need some help anyway without my brilliance to guide you! _

George almost smiled, but he realized it would most likely freak Kaitlyn out so he contented himself with thinking, _She'll never be you, Gred. But… thanks. _

Then, he turned to Kaitlyn, who was patiently waiting for his response. George wondered how long he had zoned out for, but Kaitlyn didn't seem upset or frustrated at all. He wasn't sure if it was just because she was too nice to say something, but he did appreciate it nonetheless.

"It's, er… " George cleared his throat, taking in another breath. "Well, it's supposed to be for nosy dorm mates or siblings." He stood up and went over to the table, picking up a book that had been sitting on it. "You see, you buy this. Looks like a diary, correct?"

Kaitlyn nodded.

"But," George started as soon as Kaitlyn nodded, feeling a bit more at ease with the situation, "when you try to open it, it's locked."

"Most diaries do that," Kaitlyn pointed out.

"Right you are, Ms. Thompson." George took in another breath. This wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be. In fact, he supposed he missed having someone to banter about products with. "But this one gives the intruder a set of instructions to open the diary. It will be information your sibling or dorm mates should be able to know about you, and you can set those questions yourself. Like you birthday, your pet's name, or your Hogwarts house for example."

Kaitlyn nodded, a smile starting to grow on her face as she realized what would happen once the diary was finally unlocked. "So, then what?"

The smile that started to grow on George's face faltered slightly at Kaitlyn's question. "Well… I'm not sure," he admitted. "That's where I got stuck." He shrugged and dropped the book back onto the table, heaving a sigh.

Kaitlyn frowned when she saw this, and made her way over to where George stood, reaching out to put her hand on his arm. " It probably isn't my place to offer… but if you'd like help on this… well… " she shrugged, flushing bright red. She knew she was treading on thin ice, so to speak, because this had always been something that belonged exclusively to the twins. Kaitlyn almost felt as though she was intruding on something very personal. But George looked so lost, she couldn't help but say, "I have an older brother who has always been extremely nosy. When I was younger, I always wished I could do something to get back at him. Maybe… maybe I could help you?"

George's immediate first reaction was to decline. He could do this. He could do this by himself because this was his and Fred's "thing" and it felt wrong to include anyone else in this. But the imaginary voice in his head earlier kept coming back to him. At this point, George could not distinguish if Fred's voice was saying things that the real Fred would have said, or if he was just imagining Fred saying these things so that he could feel at ease with himself.

_Don't you think I'd just want you to be happy, brother? _Fred's voice asked, not a note of teasing in his tone. _She's the only one who has made you come close to who you used to be. She's the only one who has been able to bring you close to being happy. _

Before George's guilt could get the better of him, he said softly to Kaitlyn, "You know, I think I'd really like that. If you truly don't mind, that is."

For the first time since she'd come into the shop that evening, Kaitlyn's face lit up into a full-fledged grin. Whether it was from relief that George didn't push her away or excitement to have something besides Zacharias Smith to think about, Kaitlyn didn't know. But it didn't matter because she was feeling _good _for the first time all day.

"I'm more than happy to."

George couldn't help but smile back at Kaitlyn, a warm feeling spreading from his stomach, through his chest, and to the tips of his fingers. "Right now?"

All he got in response was another grin from Kaitlyn as she began flipping through all of George's hastily scribbled notes. And for the first time in over a year, coming up with a new product for the shop didn't seem like such a lonely task to George.


	6. Playing with Firewhiskey: The 2nd Time

Kaitlyn Thompson was a lot of things, but a coward wasn't one of them. At least, that's what she kept telling herself. It had been three days since Justin Finch-Fletchley revealed to her that her boyfriend had been seeing other girls behind her back. It had been three days of Kaitlyn ignoring owls, burying herself neck-deep in her work, and avoiding any areas where Zacharias might happen to wander by. When Kaitlyn hadn't been at the Ministry, she had been visiting with her parents at St. Mungo's, helping George test the diary product, and spending time with Kyle, who had questioned her sudden aversion to all topics of conversation related to Zacharias. He didn't push, though, after the first time, when Kaitlyn had run into her room in tears.

Kyle did notice, however, that the only owls to which Kaitlyn would reply were those from George's store. He brought it up to Oliver one morning after his sister left for work. Oliver had been spending the night more often than not, and Kyle was only grateful that Kaitlyn had neglected to tease him about it.

"Weasley charm," Oliver had said with a dismissive smile. "Works wonders."

Kyle had left it at that. All he knew was that Kaitlyn seemed to be doing everything she could to avoid Zacharias Smith, and although Kyle didn't know why, he was glad. Hopefully, they would be rid of that bloke for good.

Kaitlyn, although in several states of emotional distress whenever she was alone, did notice that Oliver Wood was hanging around the flat almost everyday. She also noticed that Kyle seemed to be in much higher spirits as of late, and figured that there must be a direct correlation. She told herself that _this _was the reason she had not yet mentioned her latest, awful discovery about Zacharias to him. It was tough enough for her to believe it herself.

"Kaitlyn." Hermione was waving her hand in front of her co-worker's face. "Kaitlyn!"

At this, Kaitlyn jumped slightly, turning around to look at Hermione. "Sorry, what is it?" She realized she'd been zoning out – again. It seemed that all of the energy she was putting into avoiding Zacharias was starting to catch up with her.

Hermione just shook her head. Kaitlyn had been like this for a few days now, and she didn't know what to make of it. She never wanted to talk, always buried in her paperwork, and had declined Hermione's offer to take a break and go out for lunch as well. It was strangely out of character.

"It's getting late," Hermione finally said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Let's call it a night, shall we?"

Kaitlyn, too, looked over at the clock, raising her eyebrows in surprise. It _was _late. She nodded and stood up, stretching her arms above her head. "Sure. I hope you weren't waiting on me… "

Hermione was, but she didn't say it. She just smiled and shook her head. She didn't tell Kaitlyn that everyone was worried about her, to the point where Kyle had personally asked Hermione to keep an eye on Kaitlyn at work. She also didn't mention that just about everyone knew it had something to do with Zacharias. Hermione didn't think that admission would go over too well with Kaitlyn.

"Ron's helping George out with stocking the shop tonight, since the Hogwarts kids are on holiday soon, so I figured I would just get a head start on some work," Hermione told Kaitlyn. At least, she figured, the part about Ron and George was true.

The pair walked out of the office together, heading for the exit of the Ministry. Kaitlyn nodded along to what Hermione was saying, her ears perking up at the sound of George's name. She had been writing to him for the past few days with some more ideas, but Kaitlyn had not seen him since that night. She found that brainstorming with George was comforting; it enabled her to think about something fun and lighthearted, and she appreciated every owl that she received from him. She could tell from his letters that George was slightly concerned about her. She was sure that Oliver and Kyle were telling all of her friends that they were worried. She found it somewhat of a relief that George hadn't told anyone that she had broken down inside of his shop that night.

"Anyway," Hermione was saying as Kaitlyn quickly turned her attention to her co-worker, "I was thinking about heading over to the shop. Do you want to come?"

Kaitlyn looked at her friend and gave her what she hoped was a convincing smile. Unfortunately, the words that were at the tip of her tongue froze and she could feel her face paling.

"Kait?" Hermione was looking at her now, a frown etched into her features. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, Kaity," a voice said from behind Hermione.

Hermione turned around to find herself looking directly at Zacharias Smith. This couldn't be good.

Kaitlyn seemed to have regained some sense of composure. Her previously surprised features were now hardened into an even, expressionless stare, though her face was still a bit ashen. Hermione stepped a little bit closer to her friend, hoping to offer at least moral support if nothing else.

"Hello, Zacharias." Kaitlyn's voice was firm and indifferent, exactly the opposite of the way she was feeling.

Zacharias stepped closer to the girls, ignoring Hermione's presence. He reached out to brush a strand of hair away from Kaitlyn's face, but she sidestepped out of the way. Zacharias frowned.

"You can't avoid me forever, you know."

Kaitlyn glared at him. "Watch me try." She tugged on Hermione's arm and said, "Come on, Hermione. Let's go to the shop."

"You know," Zacharias called out after the pair as they began to walk away, "I thought I was your boyfriend. Not that Weasley bloke."

Kaitlyn spun around to look at Zacharias with the angriest look Hermione had ever seen on her face. Her eyes narrowed at him as she said in a quiet, but steely tone, "He's not my boyfriend. But it's funny because I thought _I_ was your girlfriend. Not the hundreds of other girls you've been seeing. Do they think they're your girlfriend too? Maybe we should all meet. The Zacharias Smith Girlfriends Club. It should be quite pleasant."

"What are you talking about?" Zacharias scoffed, though it was clear that he was caught off-guard by Kaitlyn's outburst. This was the first time she had ever stood up to him in the three years that they had been seeing each other, and Zach didn't know what to make of it.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't lie to me, Zacharias. The least you could do is tell me the truth."

Zacharias frowned. Kaitlyn clearly knew something she wasn't supposed to know. He dropped immediately into a gentler tone. "Kaity… "

"Don't call me that."

Zacharias sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, Kait," he began. "I didn't mean for you to show up at my flat while I was gone."

Kaitlyn laughed an unpleasant, throaty laugh that made Zacharias uneasy.

"What can I do to make it up to you?"

There was a long pause. Kaitlyn was unsure of what to say to him. There was a part of her that sparked with guilt. But there was nothing for her to feel guilty about, and this time, she knew it. Zacharias hadn't even admitted that he had been cheating on her, but Kaitlyn didn't think she would be able to get that admission out of him when there was a witness at the scene. It made Kaitlyn even more upset to think that Zacharias cared more about his image than righting any wrongs between them. She wondered if this had always been the case, or if there was a shift that she had never noticed. Kaitlyn cast a glance at Hermione who was staring at Zacharias with such disgust that she suddenly felt a surge of gratitude for her presence. Even though Hermione hadn't said anything, Kaitlyn was glad she wasn't standing here facing Zach alone. It was much easier to fold to his will when there wasn't anyone else around.

Finally, in a voice barely above a whisper, Kaitlyn said, "I never want to see you again."

With that, she turned on her heel and pulled Hermione along with her, muttering, "Take us to the shop. Please."

She didn't have to ask twice. Hermione gripped Kaitlyn's wrist and imagined George's shop in her head. The _crack _covered up Zacharias' angry protests after them. Hermione was glad, because by the time they landed inside of the shop, Kaitlyn was trembling with the realization of what she had just done.

"Hermione!" Ron called from the other side of the shop, where he had just finished stocking up one of the shelves.

Hermione looked over at her boyfriend and shook her head, tilting it slightly towards Kaitlyn to indicate that something was wrong. Ron frowned and turned, hurrying to the back of the shop.

"Kait?" Hermione asked, gently prying Kaitlyn's fingers from her wrist. When she received no response save for a blank stare, Hermione continued softly, as though approaching an injured Hippogriff, "Kaitlyn... "

"I'm okay," Kaitlyn finally said quietly. Her racing heart was starting to slow down to its normal pace.

Kaitlyn didn't understand. She was supposed to feel better. Why didn't she feel better?

Hermione heard footsteps approaching and turned around to find George and Ron looking at Kaitlyn with concern.

"Broke up with Zach," Hermione mouthed to the Weasley brothers.

Ron raised an eyebrow in response, glancing almost immediately at his older brother. George was too busy battling his own conflicting emotions to notice. Had she really broken up with him? What did this mean for George? Did he care what it meant for him? George was concerned that Kaitlyn seemed a bit in shock herself, but he couldn't deny that there was a fluttering in the pit of his stomach. He tried to push it away and focused, instead, on Kaitlyn.

"You know, Ron," he said to his brother, "I think we've made great progress tonight. What do you say we all head upstairs and have a few drinks in my flat? It's Friday, after all."

Ron nodded. "Great idea. I'll just clean up and lock up. You guys go on."

It wasn't until the four friends were sitting in George's living room that Kaitlyn finally regained a sense of her normal self.

"George," she said, following him to the kitchen where he was going to grab drinks for everyone. "Do you have any Firewhiskey?"

George raised an eyebrow at Kaitlyn's question and reluctantly nodded.

"Can I have some?"

"Er… are you sure?" George hesitated, but Kaitlyn looked at him with pleading eyes and he had to give in. "Okay," he said, pulling the bottle off of one of his top shelves. "But…"

"Be careful. I know," Kaitlyn cut in. She just desperately wanted to forget everything about Zacharias, and she remembered the way the Firewhiskey had helped her with that the last time she felt this way.

George nodded once and then poured a small glass for Kaitlyn, handing it over to her before pouring a small one for himself. He wasn't going to let her drink it alone.

The burn of the Firewhiskey trickling down Kaitlyn's throat and into her stomach made her grimace, but each sip felt like a purging of Zacharias. And that was exactly what she wanted. Over the course of the next several hours, Kaitlyn sat by, content, while the other three played a game of Exploding Snap and talked about their weekend plans. Every time her mind wandered to Zacharias, she felt an uneasy feeling at the pit of her stomach. To absolve this feeling, Kaitlyn took a sip of Firewhiskey.

It was no wonder, then, that she went through four glasses rather quickly. After that, Kaitlyn lost count.

George, however, was keeping a close eye on the distraught girl, taking it fairly slow with his own drinking. He was concerned when Kaitlyn had asked for the Firewhiskey, and seeing her down the drinks so quickly, George knew he'd been right to be worried. At least, he reasoned with himself, they were not in a public place. At least Kaitlyn would be safe here, no matter what happened. George wanted to know what had transpired between Kaitlyn and Zacharias, but if her reaction to the break up was anything to go off of, it probably wasn't a great idea.

_Well she's obviously not going anywhere anytime soon if she keeps going at this rate – you'll just have to let her spend the night again, Georgey, _Fred's voice started up again. Why was it that Fred's voice always found these most inopportune times to infiltrate George's mind?

_That's your doing, brother, not mine, _Fred responded as though George had spoken his thoughts to him.

_Shut up, Fred, _George thought. _I can't take advantage of her when she's like this. That would be the worst thing I could do. _

_Really? You think so? You think it would be considered taking advantage? You're not asking anything of her.  
><em>

George decided to simply ignore this statement by finishing off the rest of his drink. He was pretty sure that most people, even in the wizarding world, would consider hearing his dead twin's voice in his head to be crazy.

"We should really get going." Ron said, standing up after polishing off the rest of his Butterbeer. Hermione followed suit. "I've got to get home before Mum freaks out." He rolled his eyes.

George snickered, adopting a baby voice, "Aw, Merlin forbid ickle Ronnie-kins stays out late with big, bad George!" Then, he patted his brother on the shoulder and said, in his normal voice, "What you really need is to move out."

Ron grinned despite himself and went to give Kaitlyn a hug goodbye. "Soon enough, I will. I'll see you later."

Hermione bid her farewells and, with a loud _crack_, George and Kaitlyn were left alone.

Against his better judgment, George offered Kaitlyn a lopsided smile and asked, "Want another?" He was feeling his own desperate need to get that burning feeling in his stomach, if for no other reason, to block out Fred's voice in his head. It was slowly starting to get to him.

Kaitlyn looked up at him with already glazed eyes and nodded, standing up. "I probably shouldn't," she admitted, leaning against the wall and holding her glass out. "But I really want one."

George looked at her and smiled sympathetically, reaching out to take her glass. "Last one. Sound like a deal?"

Kaitlyn giggled, pushing herself up onto the kitchen counter. "Has anyone ever told you that you're simply incredible?"

George felt his entire face go red almost immediately and turned away so that Kaitlyn wouldn't see it. He knew she was just drunk, but he couldn't help that slight tingling of pleasure that rippled through him at her words. He poured their drinks, handing one glass back to Kaitlyn and shook his head.

"Not often enough," he joked, leaning against the counter next to Kaitlyn. "I can't say I wouldn't mind hearing it more often, though."

"Dually noted, sir." Kaitlyn nodded, raising her glass to him before tipping it back to take a sip.

There was a brief moment of silence. George's head was spinning – only partially from the effects of the alcohol – as he tried to figure out what exactly was going on. If the whole Zacharias scenario hadn't only recently occurred, George would be pretty certain that Kaitlyn was flirting with him. However, the former Hufflepuff was _drunk_, he reminded himself, and she was not in a stable emotional state either. Still, George couldn't help but hang on to that lingering hope that maybe, just _maybe_, he had a chance. He had long ago given up on denying, to himself at least, that he had feelings for Kaitlyn. But up until earlier in the evening, George also believed that Kaitlyn wouldn't ever leave Zacharias. And now that she had, George was even more confused than ever.

It was Kaitlyn who broke the silence. She, herself, had been reliving the night. A part of her couldn't believe that she had actually had the courage to stand up to Zacharias. Another part of her was overwhelmed by the thought of being alone again. Kaitlyn cleared her throat while her eyes were trained on a tile on the floor and admitted aloud for the first time, "I broke up with Zacharias tonight."

At George's silence, Kaitlyn looked up at him, gently swinging her legs against the kitchen counter, taking another sip of Firewhiskey. After the initial burn, she said softly, "He was cheating on me."

George narrowed his eyes, having to take a gulp of Firewhiskey himself upon Kaitlyn's admission. Although George had a feeling this was the case, he'd hoped he was wrong. Unfortunately, he was right. He licked over his lips and let out a sigh. He lifted his eyes to meet Kaitlyn's desperately hurt ones and offered her a comforting smile. "I hope you already know this, but… you're much better off without him. He didn't treat you properly."

Kaitlyn nodded miserably, averting her gaze and watching the way her legs idly swung against the counter. She took another sip from her drink. "It makes me… " Kaitlyn swallowed, finding that the next admission embarrassed her.

But George was patient. He simply stayed quiet, giving her time.

"It makes me feel foolish. And weak," Kaitlyn continued on, the floodgates now open. "After the first few times that he obviously lied to me, I should have known. But I just… I wanted something I could be sure of." She threw back the rest of her drink, pushing the glass away from her. Her other hand was gripping the edge of the counter so hard her knuckles were white. But she carried on anyway.

"My parents don't know who the bloody hell I am. My brother, Merlin knows he tries, but he needs to do what he loves. And that's Quidditch. I can't let him know how much it… how much it _hurts _every time he has to leave. Zach was the thing that would never leave. It made me feel normal. But now it just… " Kaitlyn had to stop to take a shaky breath, forcing tears back. "It was all a lie."

George didn't know what to say. He didn't think he could say anything that might possibly make everything alright; from experience, he was pretty sure there wasn't anything that would make her feel better at the moment. But when George realized that Kaitlyn had begun to cry, he went into autopilot, soothing her in the only way he knew how.

George wrapped his arms around Kaitlyn's shoulders, pulling the brunette towards his chest. He stroked her hair and whispered that everything would be alright. He knew that the words coming out of his mouth didn't matter. He wasn't even sure if she heard him.

"The worst part is… " Kaitlyn hiccupped, pulling back from George. Her head was spinning and George's face kept sliding in and out of focus from the drinks she'd had. "The worst part is that I don't even… I don't even care that he's gone! Maybe I didn't even love him this whole time. I just wanted something to hang on to. And now I'm all alone, and I'm just as bad as he is!" Kaitlyn was hysterical now, not really sure what she was saying herself. All she knew was that this felt good. This release. It was almost as though she needed this.

"You're not." George insisted softly, holding Kaitlyn's shoulders. He was standing in front her, Kaitlyn's knees pressed uncomfortably against his stomach. Neither of them seemed to notice though. "Did you hear me?" George tilted Kaitlyn's chin up to look at her. "You're not even close to as bad as him. You thought you needed him. You believed that. He was just being cruel. There's no forgiveness for that."

Kaitlyn simply looked at George, watching his lips move, hearing what he was saying, but not truly processing it due to the state she was currently in. Her thoughts were spinning around in her head, but there was only one that kept coming to the forefront of her mind. It should have confused her because, although she had thought about it before, she had never seriously considered it. But now, it was as if there was a magnetic force pulling her towards the redhead standing merely centimeters from where she sat.

Before the more rational side of her could protest, Kaitlyn leaned in and kissed George.

George was caught completely off-guard. His first reaction was surprise, followed quickly by desire. He was kissing her back before he knew what was happening. Her soft lips were gentle, yet desperate. And then there was the faint taste of Firewhiskey on her tongue. It was that realization that caused George's closed eyes to fly open. Reluctantly – because he couldn't deny that he'd wanted this – George pulled away. Kaitlyn's eyes were still closed when he looked at her, probably because she was afraid that if she opened them, the world would start to spin again.

"What's wrong?" Kaitlyn finally asked, a pout forming on her lips. Her eyes were open now, but they were glazed over, and George knew this wasn't right.

"We really shouldn't, Kaitlyn." At the quick drop in the younger girl's expression, George quickly went on, "It's not because I don't want to. Merlin knows I _want _to, Kait. Do you know how long I've been wanting to do that?" Perhaps _he _was slightly drunk too.

Kaitlyn frowned as George spoke, trying desperately to match his words with the feeble voice of reason that was fighting against the haze of the alcohol. In the back of her mind, where that voice of reason resided, Kaitlyn knew George was right. But she had never felt the tingles in her toes or the fluttering in her stomach when she kissed Zacharias; at least, not for a very long time.

"Then why are we stopping?" That was the only thing Kaitlyn could think of to say. She blinked a few times, furiously trying to regain focus of the situation at hand. When she saw the conflict on George's face, she continued, "It's just that… kissing hasn't felt that nice in a long time. And you're just so _nice_, George. You _care_. You don't even have to care, but you do anyway, and you care about _me_. It's just so… so… everything that Zacharias wasn't, isn't, and won't ever be." She was stumbling over her words, and looking at George with as much sincerity as her drunken mind could muster.

George couldn't help it. Kaitlyn's pleading face and her words, which all seemed so genuine to him, made George break. He reached out, a small smile playing at his lips and brushed his fingers along Kaitlyn's cheek. She instinctively leaned into his touch. George decided he didn't mind this so much.

"You do know," he whispered, allowing his fingers to drop from her cheek to find her hand on the counter, "that we are both drunk." He paused and, as an afterthought, added, "You, especially."

Kaitlyn giggled, gently nudging George's middle with her knee, and George couldn't help but smile too. Kaitlyn nodded. "Trust me, George. I know. Your face keeps going from two faces to one."

George chuckled, gently moving so that he was now standing between Kaitlyn's legs, and picked her up to carry her to his bedroom. "I also want you to know," he said before they crossed the threshold, "that I don't want to take advantage of you." He walked into his room and gently placed her on his bed.

Kaitlyn giggled again. It seemed to be the only thing she could do at the moment. George smiled and stood up, heading over to his dresser. With the help of a handy spell his mother had taught him, George was able to find a pair of shorts and a shirt that were too small for him, and handed them over to Kaitlyn.

"You might be more comfortable in these." He said, taking a pair of shorts and shirt himself and heading for the bathroom to change.

Kaitlyn was a bit dumbfounded by George's behavior. He was letting her stay the night, in his bed, but where was he going? She frowned, unable to help the pout that re-appeared on her lips as she quickly changed into the clothes George had offered. She threw her dress haphazardly to the other side of the room and fell back into the bed, the pout still firmly in place. This whole night was confusing her.

"You know, if you keep doing that, your face might freeze in that expression, and that would be such a shame for a pretty face like yours."

Kaitlyn sat up with a start and looked over to the door, seeing a blurry George smirking at her. She glared at him, trying to focus her vision, feeling her pout eventually turn into a smile. "I didn't know where you went."

"Just to change," George said, flicking his wand to turn off the lights in the flat before he crawled into bed with Kaitlyn. "I hope you don't mind me staying in here with you," he said as he gently pushed Kaitlyn back down onto the bed, pulling the soft, plush covers over her body, "The couch wasn't as comfortable as I thought it would be last time."

"I don't mind at all." Kaitlyn said, scooting closer to George, taking in the comforting smell of the Weasley twin. "But, for all my troubles," she continued, pretending to be stern, "I require at _least _one snogging session."

George laughed in spite of his earlier resolution to stop taking advantage. He couldn't help it when Kaitlyn was the one initiating everything. He couldn't resist her. So, ignoring the nagging feeling at the back of his mind, George leaned closer to Kaitlyn, stopping only centimeters away from her lips and whispered, "I think I could arrange for that to happen."

To Kaitlyn, the moment when their lips touched again was like fireworks were set off in every single part of her body.


	7. Disappointment

**Author's Note: **So terribly sorry it took so long for me to update this. My real life has been a little crazy. I'm halfway through the next chapter already though, so fingers crossed, I'll get that up soon! As always, thank you to my wonderful beta Kim!

Kaitlyn was awoken from her peaceful slumber by the sliver of sunlight streaming through a crack in the blinds. She let out a soft groan when the discomfort of her hangover set in, rolling onto her other side to block out the far-too-bright light. What she saw made her blush and sent panicked thoughts through her head. The events of the previous night came rushing back to her, and Kaitlyn wasn't sure if the nausea she suddenly felt was from the alcohol she'd consumed or the renewed knowledge of what she'd done. To reassure herself, Kaitlyn lifted the covers ever so slightly to look down at herself and breathed a sigh of relief.

_At least I have clothes on…_

Kaitlyn closed her eyes for a moment, forcing herself to remember the events of the previous night step by step. She'd broken up with Zacharias, she confirmed to herself, and then went with Hermione to George's shop since that was where they were headed before Zacharias had intercepted them. Kaitlyn swallowed dryly when she remembered how she'd asked George for Firewhiskey. She remembered how she just wanted to forget.

It seemed that she had managed to forget more than just Zacharias. She'd managed to throw all reservations out the window. If she remembered correctly, it was she who had initiated the first kiss, not George. And after that first kiss, she remembered the burning feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't from the alcohol either. It was a different feeling, one she could not quite describe in the current state she was in; a feeling Kaitlyn couldn't remember having since the early days of her relationship with Zacharias.

_That was back when I believed he cared about me_, Kaitlyn thought with spite.

But it still didn't make the former Hufflepuff feel right about snogging George – more than once if her blurry memory served her correctly. She remembered feeling bold around the redhead, remembered how every kiss they shared was like an electric shock running through her body, revitalizing her in ways no one else had ever done before. Kaitlyn blushed thinking about it. She would be lying if she said she didn't want to kiss him again; in fact, Kaitlyn couldn't think of anything she wanted more, except maybe for the pounding in her head to go away.

_But you can't do that, _Kaitlyn admonished herself, frowning. _You just broke up with someone and you go off snogging another bloke not even twenty-four hours later. _

At that thought, Kaitlyn started to feel the original panic start to bubble within her again. Did she even like George in that way? What had she been thinking? She must have been out of her mind to use George as her rebound snog. George, who was nothing but genuinely nice; George, who had taken care of her when he didn't have to. But, Kaitlyn argued with herself, what if she _did _like him?

These thoughts combined with the hangover, which was now at full force, made Kaitlyn just want to pull the covers up over her head and go back to sleep. Maybe when she woke up, she would find that this was all just a dream; that she hadn't possibly ruined the one good friendship she might've managed to forge throughout the Zacharias ordeal.

Kaitlyn risked a glance at George at that thought, and she felt her chest tighten. She desperately wanted to stay, to see what he might have to say when he awoke. But Kaitlyn had talked herself into circles, and she was just so confused. She didn't want George to wake up only for her to tell him that she was confused. She had seen what sad George looked like, and she didn't want to be the one to cause that. And, selfishly, Kaitlyn had to admit that she even more desperately didn't want George to wake up and tell her that _he'd _made a big mistake. At _that _thought, Kaitlyn felt her stomach drop. She didn't think she could handle the rejection.

"You're being unfair," Kaitlyn whispered to herself as she very slowly slid away from George in the bed. She glanced at the peacefully slumbering twin once more before she carefully stood up.

Kaitlyn frowned and stood still for a moment as her world spun unsteadily around her. Once she was sure she was able to make it to the kitchen, Kaitlyn found the dress she'd been wearing the previous day and slipped out of George's bedroom. Five short, but agonizing, minutes later, Kaitlyn had changed and left George a note on the kitchen table. She felt a pang of guilt as she re-read her note and briefly considered staying. She could make coffee, freshen up, and laugh with George about how stupid they were to consume that much Firewhiskey in a night.

"No," Kaitlyn said firmly to herself. "You can't do that to him." She was vaguely aware of how much worse it would look when George woke up to an empty flat, but Kaitlyn was far too consumed in her own guilt to acknowledge that.

With a resolute frown, Kaitlyn made her way to the front door. She needed to leave, she told herself. She needed to talk to people who would just listen – someone who would not reply and tell her what an awful person she was, or what a mistake she was making. She needed to go to St. Mungo's. With one last regretful glance at George's closed bedroom door, Kaitlyn stepped out into the hallway and shut the flat door quietly behind her.

When he heard the front door close, George slowly opened his eyes, ignoring the throbbing pain that began at the back of his head and slowly seeped its way to the front. He heaved a sigh, sitting up slowly and running a hand through his messy red hair. Over the years, George had become adept at sensing other people's moods, a skill acquired out of necessity when growing up with so many siblings. He'd woken up the minute Kaitlyn had stood from the bed, but after sneaking a peek at her, George decided it was best to stay put. He'd had a feeling she was going to regret everything.

"Stupid," George muttered to himself. "You're so bloody stupid, Weasley."

Kaitlyn had just broken up with Zacharias the previous night and was clearly in no state to be making rational decisions – and that was before the Firewhiskey consumption had begun. Why had he allowed for everything to spiral out of control so quickly? Why hadn't George listened to the more rational side of himself? George couldn't exactly explain how he felt. He was disappointed, that he was sure of. He was embarrassed, a little hurt, and maybe a little angry too. It wasn't his fault that Kaitlyn had pushed herself on him. How was he supposed to resist that? George let out a frustrated groan and fell back onto his pillows, squeezing his eyes shut against his thoughts and the light headache that was beginning to materialize.

It was a few hours later when George was roused by a loud pounding at his door. He stood from his bed, groggily wiping the sleep from his eyes and made his way through the flat to the front door. He couldn't deny that a part of him was hoping that it might be Kaitlyn. Unfortunately, to George's utter disappointment, it was Ron.

The younger Weasley raised an eyebrow when he saw his brother, stepping gingerly past him into the flat. George shut the door behind him and stalked over to the kitchen, deciding that he definitely needed tea.

"Good afternoon to you, too. Obviously, you had a rough night," Ron observed as he followed George, watching carefully as his brother precariously flicked his wrist to clumsily summon a mug from the shelf.

George rolled his eyes at Ron, getting the kettle started and plopping down into a chair. "I had a fantastic night, thank you." He heaved a sigh and, as an afterthought, muttered, "It was this morning that was the problem."

Ron's eyes went wide and he quickly sat down in the chair across the George. He peered at his brother's tired expression and asked in a hushed voice, "You didn't…?"

"No," George cut him off, annoyed. "I didn't shag her. I'm stupid, Ron, but I'm not _that _stupid. We just… snogged… a few times."

"I don't get it then," Ron said after a pause. "Why are you so moody? That's a good thing, right?"

"Look around you, Ron," George retorted impatiently, as though Ron were rather slow. "Does it look like Kaitlyn's here? She bloody left before I woke up."

Ron stopped short, looking around as though noticing this point for the first time. His face started to fall. "George…" he began, slowly taking a seat in the chair across from George, who was busying himself with making tea. Ron reached out a hand and put it on his brother's arm, causing George to look up. Ron sighed, finally saying the only thing he could think of, "Just give her time. Maybe she'll come around."

George shook his head, brushing Ron's hand off of him. "I don't know, mate. Maybe all of it was just a bloody terrible idea." George rolled his eyes, tucking his wand away. "Merlin, Fred would never have let me live that one down."

There was an awkward silence after that.

"I'm fine, Ron," George finally said, standing up and heading towards his bedroom. "You can go report that back to Mum. I'm going to sleep off this hangover." Without glancing back at Ron, George continued on his way into his room, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Later that afternoon, it was another loud knock on the door that roused the grumpy redhead from his slumber. George considered ignoring it because it was most likely Ron, or possibly Verity, the young woman he and Fred had hired to help. After the war was over, Verity had agreed to come back to work, but only on the weekends so that George wouldn't have to man the shop himself. He was still working to find a replacement for her during the week, but couldn't bring himself to interview anyone.

"I know you're in there, Weasley!" Kyle Thompson's voice floated through the flat, making George bolt up in bed. For a split second, he was relieved to find that his hangover was indeed gone. But the person at the door reminded him why the feeling of mild terror was currently rising up from the pit of his stomach.

"Bloody hell," George muttered, rising from his bed and heaving a sigh. Whatever Kyle wanted, George was pretty sure it wasn't good. But for some reason, instead of running away, George's feet propelled him to the door.

He pulled it open to see Kyle holding his wand out in front of him. George took a few steps back immediately, throwing his hands up as though signaling surrender.

"Sorry, mate," Kyle said sheepishly, quickly stowing his wand in his robes. "The girl downstairs said you might not come to the door."

George blinked at him, thoroughly confused by Kyle's friendliness. Had Kaitlyn not said anything to him? He swallowed and attempted not to sound as nervous as he felt as he chuckled and said, "No problem. How is the shop doing anyway? Verity hasn't burned it down?"

Kyle laughed, "No, but it's pretty busy down there."

"Well, that's always good to hear," George said, regaining some of the color in his features. He turned towards his kitchen, glancing over his shoulder at Kyle. "Tea?"

At the brunette's nod, George busied himself in the kitchen, trying to work out why exactly the older Thompson was in his flat and _not _beating him to a pulp for laying a hand on his younger sister.

"I need your help," Kyle finally said, plopping down into a seat at the kitchen table.

George was taken aback by this, and he was sure it showed on his face because Kyle laughed and continued, "Don't look so surprised, Weasley. Besides, I have a feeling you'll enjoy this."

"What… what the bloody hell are you on about?" George finally asked, setting a cup of tea down in front of Kyle.

"I need to pull a prank on Zacharias Smith."

At this, George's eyes lit up. "A prank, you say?" He grabbed a chair and plopped down into it, "Well, sir, I believe you've come to just the right man. On a scale from one to ten, how… physically harming are you imagining the prank?"

Kyle laughed and shook his head. "I knew you'd see things my way. Unfortunately, my sister would kill me if I actually harmed the git, though he bloody well deserves it for cheating on her."

At this, George emphatically nodded.

"But," Kyle continued with a sigh, "I suppose pure embarrassment and tainting his reputation should do well enough."

"Well, you've come to the right place," George said with a grin. "Fred and I didn't spend most evenings in detentions for no reason, you know."

"I do remember a time when I ate one of your sweets. I couldn't get the purple out of my hair for days," Kyle said with a small laugh. "So you think you can help?"

"Oh, mate, I _know _I can help," George shot back with his trademark mischievous grin. He stood up, beckoning for Kyle to follow. "In fact, I think I have just the thing. I just need to customize it a bit for our dear old friend, Zacharias, before we set the plan into motion."

"Brilliant," Kyle said with a grin, following George out of the flat and down the winding staircase into the main room of the store. "Oliver said you'd be the best man for the job."

"Ah, well, Wood did have the misfortune of being one of mine and Fred's favourite testers back in the day," George said with a grin, leading the pair into the back room.

Kyle laughed, watching in awe as George shuffled through his many products stacked up in the back, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He took in a breath and addressed the issue he knew must've been bothering the Weasley twin from the moment he realized who was knocking on his door.

"George," Kyle said softly, leaning against the wall of the room. When he was sure he had the redhead's attention, he continued in a matter-of-fact tone, "I know what happened between you and Kaitlyn last night."

At this, George visibly paled and, had he been more careless, he would've also dropped the stack of Wildfire Whiz-bangs in his arms.

"I'm not going to beat you up," Kyle stated dryly with an amused expression as George's shoulders relaxed and something like a sigh of relief escaped his lips. Kyle just shrugged. "I'm very protective of my sister, but that's just because she usually goes for total lunatics like Zacharias."

"S'alright," George responded, trying to add some humor into the situation. "Girls have strange tastes. Take Hermione, for example. What she sees in my bloody idiot of a brother, I have no clue. But here they are."

Kyle laughed and shook his head. "Well… in any case, I just wanted to let you know that… well, Kaitlyn can be pretty stubborn. I know she likes you. And… if she ever stops being a bit of an idiot herself, I'll be glad if you two get together."

George knew he had to be as red as the hairs on his head at that point, so he quickly busied himself with restacking the Wildfire Whiz-bangs so he could continue his search for what he was really looking for. Finally, though, he cleared his throat and threw over his shoulder to Kyle, "Thanks, mate. It, uh, it means a lot from you."

Kyle just shrugged. "It really think it should be me thanking you. You've taken care of her when you didn't have to." Then, he smirked, "But… if she ever does come around, and believe me, I've been trying to get her to for the past few hours, I must wish you some luck. That girl can be quite the handful sometimes."

George laughed lightly. He was glad that he had Kyle's blessing. But the real trouble was that he just wasn't sure if Kaitlyn was planning on ever speaking to him again.

_Well, brother, _Fred's voice penetrated his mind again, _you'll just have to use that good ol' Weasley charm, won't you? Oh, and you're looking on the wrong shelf you git. It's on the one on the right._

George rolled his eyes at his twin's voice, glad that his back was to Kyle, and found what he was looking for, exactly where Fred's voice had directed him.

"Well, Thompson," he turned around with his trademark grin on his face. "You ready to make Zacharias Smith's life a living hell?"


	8. Reconciliation

Kaitlyn looked up when a stack of parchment was dropped on her desk with a resounding _thud_. She closed her eyes momentarily, took in a breath, then looked up at her coworker with forced patience.

"Peter," Kaitlyn said slowly, "what the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

Peter, a former Hufflepuff a year ahead of Kyle, rolled his eyes, "I'm just the messenger, Kait. Take it out on McHiggins. Apparently, the case has been tossed back to us."

Kaitlyn let out a frustrated groan. The department had been battling a case regarding a rogue Hippogriff in Muggle London with no explanation as to where in the world it came from. The department had tossed it to Aurors due to the suspicious nature of the Hippogriff's appearance, but apparently the Aurors did not have the time nor did they care to handle it.

"I _hate_ Auror training time," Kaitlyn grumbled, "They always just throw away every little case if it doesn't directly concern dark arts."

Peter chuckled, "Happens every year. Hermione should be able to help you once she gets out of her meeting."

Kaitlyn simply waved the older wizard away, casting a weary glance at the stack of folders now towering over her. She heaved a sigh. At least, she reasoned, she was sufficiently busy enough to be distracted from all other aspects of her life.

It had been a week since Kaitlyn had last seen George; a week since she'd spoken to him. This wasn't to say George hadn't been trying to get in touch with her, though Kaitlyn suspected he was starting to give up. It had been a full day since the last time Kaitlyn received an owl from him. This realization made Kaitlyn uneasy. On the one hand, it was probably best if George did give up. They could forget that this pseudo-romance had ever occurred. On the other hand, Kaitlyn felt a pang of loneliness and regret every hour she didn't see the store owl tapping on the window of her office.

Kaitlyn had simply refused to discuss the matter with anyone, including her brother. Hermione was too polite to ask her about it, which made Kaitlyn all the more grateful to have her around. Ron mentioned George off-handedly once when he had dropped by the office. Kaitlyn knew he was watching her reaction, so she'd carefully put on a neutral expression and pretended to be busy looking for a piece of parchment. She didn't miss, though, the exasperated glance Hermione shared with him shortly before they announced they were going to lunch.

Heaving a sigh, Kaitlyn absent-mindedly reached over to one of her drawers, pulling out the small stack of letters George had written to her over the past week. She couldn't explain why she kept them. There were five total. Each of the letters were short and to the point. All of them said something to the tune of, "Let's meet for tea and talk." Kaitlyn hadn't responded to a single one of them. Kyle had mentioned one evening that he thought she was being cruel.

"The bloke at least deserves a reply if you're going to reject him." Kyle had said as he watched Kaitlyn take the letter from the owl and feed the creature a small treat before sending it on its way home.

"He's not Zacharias." Kyle added on, "You can't punish every guy who might fancy you because of Zacharias."

Kaitlyn had simply looked at her brother before brushing by him to go to her room. She didn't want to dwell on Kyle's insistence that George did, in fact, fancy her, but she couldn't explain why she was neither throwing the letters away nor responding to them. It wasn't intentional. There were several moments where Kaitlyn had found herself pulling out a fresh piece of parchment, quill poised over the blank sheet. But, at the last second, she'd always stood up and walked away.

What was she even supposed to say? She was sorry, but she really didn't think seeing each other at all ever again was a good idea? Well, that would simply be a lie.

"What are you so afraid of anyway?" Oliver Wood had demanded of her the previous night as the trio had dinner at the Thompson flat.

"I'm not." Kaitlyn had responded. But her voice sounded feeble and unsure, even to herself.

"Kaitlyn!" Hermione startled Kaitlyn from her reveries as she burst into the room in a very uncharacteristic way, rushing over to her desk next to Kaitlyn's and dumping her files onto it before turning back to the girl in question with a huge smile on her face.

Kaitlyn raised an eyebrow, quickly stuffing the letters back into her drawer and looked at her co-worker, "What's going on?"

"You've _got_ to come to Diagon Alley with me right _now_." Hermione insisted, pulling at Kaitlyn's arm.

"What? Why? Hermione, do you see that stack of folders over there?"

"Haven't you heard? My goodness, Kaitlyn, you need to get out more." Hermione said, exasperated, as she threw Floo into the fireplace, "Go to the _Leaky Cauldron_."

That was all the warning Kaitlyn received before she was pushed into the flames. Hermione's comment about Kaitlyn needing to get out more made the former Hufflepuff realize that if _Hermione Granger – _of all people – was saying that, it must be true. Shaking her head, Kaitlyn announced the _Leaky Cauldron_ and felt the familiar spinning she associated with Floo travel.

She stepped out of the fireplace, quickly brushing the ashes off of her clothes, turning just in time to see Hermione do the same.

"What in Merlin's Beard has gotten you so excited?" Kaitlyn demanded. She didn't think she'd seen Hermione get this enthusiastic over anything before.

"You'll see." Hermione replied with a mischievous grin, leading Kaitlyn away from the fireplace and into the main room of the pub.

But Kaitlyn heard before she saw. A loud screech from the back of the pub made everyone present turn their heads. Hermione grinned and pulled Kaitlyn along towards the crowd that was starting to form around one table in the back.

"How _dare _you!" A beautiful blonde angrily spat out at none other than Zacharias Smith, who was currently sitting among four or five different women. None of them looked very happy. Zacharias looked as though he wanted to run – very far away.

Kaitlyn raised her eyebrows, casting a weary glance at Hermione. Her co-worker merely nodded back at the scene.

"I…" Zacharias started to say, looking as though he were fighting words from coming out of his mouth. In the end, he seemed to have lost because the next sentence came tumbling out of his mouth, almost like the time in second year when Ron Weasley was belching slugs at random in the middle of class. "I saw Isabella the same night I saw you last week."

Kaitlyn's mouth dropped open in shock. She noticed she was not alone. Kaitlyn looked around her to see that people who didn't know Zacharias had the same reaction as she did, while many of his former Hogwarts classmates looked torn between amusement and disdain.

"You _what_?" The girl who must have been Isabella screamed from somewhere in the crowd, pushing her way through everyone to get to the front. "You slimy, foul, piece of _shit_!" And before anyone could react, Isabella slapped Zacharias Smith across the cheek.

Zacharias' hand flew to his reddening cheek, looking absolutely mortified. He opened his mouth, presumably to apologize, but instead he said, "And I lied to you, Isabella, because I hadn't broken up with Kaitlyn when I told you I did."

At the mention of her name, Kaitlyn blanched. Hermione turned to her and nudged her forward, but Zacharias already realized that she was there.

"Kaitlyn!" Zacharias shouted in surprise.

"Hello, Zacharias." Kaitlyn replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "It doesn't look like you're having a very good day, does it?"

The former Hufflepuff bit down on his lip, as though afraid to open his mouth, but blurted out anyway, "I was faithful to you for a month but cheated on you almost every week after that for our whole relationship!"

There was a moment of silence, as though time had been suspended. Everyone watched Kaitlyn, who simply stood there with a look of absolute disgust on her face.

Then, absolute chaos ensued.

It seemed as though every single girl in the Wizarding World had been summoned to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch that day; at least, every single girl who had ever had the misfortune of getting involved with Zacharias Smith. A swarm of females surged forward in the crowd, yelling and screaming obscenities at the confused and panicked boy in the middle of it all.

"How could you do that to me?"

"How could you do that to _her_?"

"I'm going to hex you into next _year, _Smith!"

"Not if I get to him first!"

It seemed that no one was going to let him get away without giving Zacharias a piece of her mind. And every time he opened his mouth to say something, a confession tumbled out of it. Every time he tried to deny his previous statements weren't true, a randomly colored spot would appear on his face.

Kaitlyn didn't bother to join in on the activities, choosing to stand towards the back and watch with an amused smile growing on her lips as her ex-boyfriend was assaulted by each and every one of his ladies – each of whom thought she was special. The more time went on, the more ridiculous Zacharias looked. Soon, there was no more room on his face, so the spots spread to his hair and his arms. It didn't help Zacharias' case when a few of the girls started sending jinxes his way. Two singed eyebrows, four different colours In his hair, and a rubber arm later, Kaitlyn could've sworn she heard Zacharias calling out to her for help. But she didn't move, watching with an odd sense of satisfaction that the man who had caused her years of heartbreak was finally getting what he deserved: humiliation.

"I told you this was too good to miss," Hermione whispered in Kaitlyn's ear, "You sure you don't want to go in there and give him a good hex?"

Kaitlyn laughed – one of the first real laughs she'd had since she broke things off – and shook her head, "I thought I would, but you know…I'm quite enjoying myself from a distance here. Whoever did this to him is bloody brilliant." She glanced over at her friend who was giving her a pointed look, "What?"

Hermione sighed, "Kaitlyn…who do you _think _went through all of the trouble to do this? Think about it."

Kaitlyn furrowed her brows in confusion, "What are you…_oh_."

Of course. Who else would be behind a large-scale prank like this? Kaitlyn sighed, turning to Hermione, "I suppose I can't ignore him any longer."

"Too right you can't. You should probably go find him right _now_." Hermione said, clearly exasperated by the whole George-and-Kaitlyn situation.

"We have to get back to work, Granger," Kaitlyn reminded her. "And besides, why are you so eager about me talking to him all of the sudden?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Because you guys can make each other _happy_. Do you even remember what that feels like, Kaitlyn? I'm pretty sure neither of you do. That is, until you're with each other. _Goodness_, I thought Ronald and I were bad, but watching the pair of you is akin to torture!"

Kaitlyn's eyes were wide as she listened to the normally calm and collected Hermione rant and she couldn't help but chuckle at the end of it. To her co-worker's credit, she made some very good points. But, Kaitlyn reminded herself, she did have to go back to work.

"Come on, Cupid," Kaitlyn took Hermione's arm. "I'll go see him tonight after work. Right now, that blasted Hipogriff case is calling my name."

George Weasley hummed to himself as he took the last of the change Ron had counted for him to the back room of his store. In his opinion, it had been quite the successful week leading up to Christmas, all things considered. Ron had offered to help him out with the shop alongside Verity while he figured out what he wanted to do; he hadn't applied for the Auror program since he decided that he'd had more than enough brushes with death during the War. George didn't realize how much easier things would be with just another pair of hands around, and despite how much he teased Ron constantly, he trusted his younger brother completely.

While Ron had been helping him man the store, George and Kyle Thompson had been working tirelessly to plan out revenge on Zacharias Smith. George had modified an old prank he and Fred had designed during their Hogwarts days. It was a potion that, for twenty-four hours, the drinker would spout the truth every time said drinker tried to tell a lie. With every truth, a spot would grow on the person's body. All spots would wear off in twenty-four hours, making the potion a more comical Veritaserum. George had sent Smith an owl using a quill that changed his handwriting to look rounder and neater than his own, impersonating a girl. He knew that it would lure the coward to the _Leaky Cauldron _for lunch. Meanwhile, Kyle hastily owl'd every girl he could remember from Hogwarts, signing Smith's name at the bottom asking to meet for lunch and a Butterbeer to "catch up." While George was busy waiting for Smith at the pub so that he could "accidentally" bump into him, spilling the potion into Smith's Buttebeer, Kyle tipped Hermione off about the prank. He knew his sister wouldn't come if she had even an idea that Zacharias would be in the vicinity, so he urged Hermione to keep that bit a secret.

To George, the prank itself had gone remarkably well. He was quite proud of himself for pulling off something of this scale without Fred's help. He admitted to himself, afterwards, that it felt quite strange to be celebrating the success of the prank over a Butterbeer with Kyle Thompson rather than his twin. Still, he couldn't feel too sad about it when he remembered the smile that crossed Kaitlyn's features when she realized what was going on. If anything, that one smile made the week of planning and execution completely worth it. He had half-hoped that she would stay a bit longer and, perhaps, put an end to the silent treatment she seemed to be giving him. But she had quickly dragged Hermione back to the Floo, presumably to head back to her office.

George had been feeling strange whenever he thought about Kaitlyn Thompson. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. The past week, he'd mostly been pushing any and all emotional thoughts about her to the back of his mind, focusing on the prank instead. But now that it was over, now that Zacharias Smith finally got what was coming to him, George had nothing to distract him from his own feelings. Ron had asked him a few times during the day if he'd planned on sending her an owl. Surely, Ron had reasoned, Kaitlyn knew George was behind the prank and would respond to this one.

But George simply brushed him off, asking him to re-stock the Canary Creams before the dinner rush. It was the red head's hope that, if he continued to ignore the hurt bubbling beneath the surface of his façade, it would simply vanish. Unfortunately, it was harder to ignore the worried glances Ron kept throwing his way every so often, and even more difficult to ignore the voices in his head.

_What the bloody hell are you running away for? _Fred's angry voice sounded in his head.

George had to close his eyes for a few moments, willing his dead twin's voice to shut up. This was the last thing he needed. Over the past week, his head had been clear of Fred's voice, probably because he was constantly preoccupied with helping Kyle set the prank up. But after the shop had cleared out, and Ron had respectfully backed off – verbally, anyway – the voice George both loved and dreaded to hear came back into his head.

_I'm not shutting up until you face your stupid fears and send the girl just one more stupid owl. _Fred's voice came at him again, exasperated and almost pleading. George could see the expression his twin would have made, had he been alive to have this same argument with him.

"Er…George?" Ron asked in an uncharacteristically timid voice.

The elder Weasley opened his eyes, pasting a neutral expression on his face, "What is it?"

Ron gestured towards the door. "Hermione's outside waiting for me so I'm going to head out to have supper with her. But…er…there's someone with her who'd like to see you."

George nodded at Ron in dismissal for the day and followed his gaze to the door, unable to stop himself from visibly blanching. Ron quirked an eyebrow at him, but said nothing as he slid past Kaitlyn with a nod to join his girlfriend, who waved to George before the couple walked away.

George gave a half-hearted wave back to Hermione that went unnoticed and cleared his throat, focusing his attention on putting the gold still lying on the counter top into the pouch Ron had left out for him.

"Hello, George." Kaitlyn said softly, approaching the counter but keeping a fair distance away. The brunette's discomfort was radiating out of her every pore, though she desperately tried to act casual. When George only nodded in her direction, Kaitlyn bit her lip and took in a deep breath. "I just…um…well, I wanted to thank you."

George raised an eyebrow, closing up the pouch, finally looking up at the fidgeting girl before him. "For what?"

"For what you did today." Kaitlyn replied uneasily, watching as George banished the pouch of gold, presumably to the back room of the store. He stepped around the counter and flicked his wand to begin officially closing the store down for the night.

"Well," George finally said, glancing at Kaitlyn who hadn't moved from her spot, "the bloke deserved it. It was your brother's idea, really."

Kaitlyn merely nodded, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her robes, glancing around the store with feigned interest at nothing in particular.

The silence awkwardly stretched between the pair as George walked up and down the aisles, ensuring the protection charms he'd cast were in place. He couldn't decide how he felt. There was a swell of elation that Kaitlyn had come to see him; this was, after all, what he had been waiting for her to do for the past week, wasn't it? But George couldn't ignore the flare of hurt and anger in his chest when he saw Kaitlyn walk into his shop. He couldn't deny that he had felt both of these emotions when he knew she was leaving his flat that fateful morning without so much as a note or a goodbye. George was sure that he had been nothing but a gentleman that previous night. _She _was the one who had kissed _him_, for Merlin's sake! He had even tried to stop her. Granted, he admitted to himself, he could have tried harder, but how could he resist her beautiful eyes, pleading with him to just let her have one carefree night? He couldn't. And yet, it felt so right to fall asleep with her securely tucked in his arms – only to have that sense of security ripped away when she left the following morning. Then, she went out of her way to avoid him all week with not even one response to the numerous owls he'd sent. He shook his head as he came back to the front of the store, seeing that Kaitlyn still hadn't moved from her spot. She was fidgeting now, chewing on her bottom lip nervously and bouncing on the balls of her feet. Despite the tumultuous emotions George was feeling, he couldn't help but think that she looked absolutely _adorable. _But as quickly as that thought had come, George banished it to the back of his mind. He couldn't afford to think like that.

Finally, he put his wand away and sighed, turning to face the younger girl. "Why are you here, Kaitlyn?"

Kaitlyn looked taken aback by his question, but quickly tried to look unfazed. She shrugged half-heartedly. "I wanted to thank you…"

"I heard you. And I told you: It was my pleasure to see the git squirm in public."

"That's not all." Kaitlyn interrupted, a look of panic crossing her features. She had guessed that George was cross with her, and he had every right to be, but she didn't realize he was downright angry. "I also…I…I'm sorry."

George's indifferent expression slipped for a moment and, if it was possible, Kaitlyn felt worse. She had hurt him.

"George…" she stepped a little closer to the red head, but he turned away from her. "George, I know I acted childishly. I…I was being selfish and thinking only about how I was feeling at the time. I was confused, George, you have to understand-"

"No. I don't bloody have to do anything." George cut her off, turning back to face her looking angry and upset, "I told you it was a bad idea, okay? I _told _you that you were going to regret it. I wasn't just saying it for your sake. Don't you get it, Kaitlyn? I _like _you."

"And I like you too!"

"How can you fucking say that to me? You _left, _Kaitlyn. You thought I was asleep, but I woke up the second you got out of my bed. You couldn't even wait until I woke up to have a cup of coffee and talk about it. And then, you _ignored me _for a week. A bloody week, Kaitlyn. And it wasn't until you felt some sort of damn obligation to come see me because I did you a favour." George sighed, running a hand through his head, "Look. Don't get me wrong – I was more than happy to help your brother plan revenge on Smith. He had it coming and I think he's one of the foulest creatures in Wizarding London. But I find it really fucking hard to believe that anything you're saying right now is true because you wouldn't have left if you really did like me."

Kaitlyn was silent for a moment. She felt the all-too familiar feeling of a burning in the back of her throat, but she refused to cry in front of George again. Besides, she couldn't really blame him for lashing out at her. She swallowed the lump back and said, in a voice barely above a whisper for she wasn't sure if she could manage it without allowing those tears to escape, "I had just found out that he had cheated on me, George. He had cheated on me with Merlin knows how many women throughout the three years that we had been together. And that night, we had Firewhiskey. A lot of Firewhiskey. It's not an excuse. Not at all. I was completely and totally wrong to initiate anything with you. And I was bloody stupid to leave the next morning. But I panicked. George…I…"

Kaitlyn had to stop speaking, allowing herself a few moments to gather herself together. "I woke up and suddenly, I was in another man's bed, less than twenty-four hours after I'd broken up with my boyfriend of three years. You're right. I should have stayed. I should have waited for you to wake up so we could talk about it. And I should have, at the very least, replied to your owls. It was selfish. _I_ was selfish."

George watched Kaitlyn battle with her own emotions and couldn't help but allow that tinge of forgiveness that had been eating away at him from the moment he saw her walk into his store begin to give way throughout the rest of him. He heaved a sigh, reaching out for Kaitlyn and squeezing her arm lightly. "Would you like a cup of tea?" he finally asked.

Kaitlyn looked up at him in half-disbelief and half-happiness. She nodded timidly and followed George's gentle pull up the stairs and into his flat. While George went about getting two cups of tea started for them, Kaitlyn sat down at the table and studied the older boy with interest. It surprised them both when she was the first one to break the silence.

"I know that you won't believe me," Kaitlyn began in a soft voice, "but I wasn't lying when I said that I like you."

George raised an eyebrow, setting down a steaming mug in front of her. He sat down across from Kaitlyn with a mug for himself and said, "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but it's kind of difficult for me to believe anything you say."

A ghost of a smile flashed over Kaitlyn's features. "I know. And I don't blame you. Not at all." Her eyes briefly flicked over to George's bedroom before returning to look at the twin before her. "I thought I loved Zacharias. For three years, I truly believed that he was it. The wizard I was going to marry." She laughed bitterly at this thought, "And I realized this afternoon, when I could get absolutely no work done no thanks to you," she added on with a slight teasing smile, "that at some point, the love I thought I felt for Zach shifted into…well, I don't know…resignation, maybe."

George shook his head, allowing himself to give Kaitlyn a small smile in return, "It makes me so angry to think that you could've ever felt that way about a relationship. You should _never _feel resigned to be with someone."

"I know that now." Kaitlyn nodded, taking a sip of her tea. She cleared her throat and looked up to meet George's eyes. "I know you think I came here tonight because I thought I had to. For about an hour after the prank, you would be correct. But then I had some time to think. Filing papers for a Hippogriff case you've been trying to close for _months _can get a bit monotonous, you know."

George couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped his lips at this, and he definitely couldn't help the warm feeling he got when he saw Kaitlyn flush bright red with a smile.

"Anyway," Kaitlyn continued, "I guess I realized that…I stopped feeling stupidly gooey-eyed for him at some point before we broke up. It was recent. It had to be because I hadn't remembered ever having the courage to stand up to him the way I did the night we broke up. And I kept thinking about it and, well…I realized…don't laugh at me, okay?"

Before he could stop it, George chuckled, but quickly tried to school his face into a serious expression when he saw Kaitlyn's exasperated glare, "Sorry, sorry. I can't make promises. But I'll try really hard."

Kaitlyn rolled her eyes, but she was smiling still. "Well, you arse, it was because of _you_."

And despite the fact that it might have been one of the cheesiest things George had ever heard anyone say to him before, he couldn't even bring himself to grin. He was completely and totally surprised. Because even though it was corny, George could feel the sincerity oozing out of Kaitlyn's words.

He raised his eyebrows and tried for some humour instead of the tumultuous exhilaration he felt coursing through him, "Is that your best pick up line, Thompson?"

"Hey!" Kaitlyn objected, turning bright red once again. She rolled her eyes, flicking her napkin at him, "That's the last time I try to talk about my _feelings _with you."

George laughed, reaching out across the table. Before he could think about what he was doing, he placed his hand over hers and squeezed gently, "Hey, come on. I didn't mean that. I'm shit at emotions, if you couldn't tell." He looked her with his best puppy-dog face her could muster.

Kaitlyn tried to keep the frown on her face, but the smile beneath it broke through, "Me too." She finally admitted. "But…I really just wanted you to know that. That I _do _like you. A lot, if I'm going to be completely honest. It's just…"

George nodded, "I know. It's too soon. I understand. I was just…I was hurt and when I get hurt, it just turns into anger sometimes." He squeezed her hand again and, to his surprise, Kaitlyn turned her hand so that her palm was against his. Slowly, she intertwined their fingers together and she gave a small squeeze.

"I wish I hadn't been with Zach when I met you." Kaitlyn admitted, "Because I think…well, I think things would have turned out differently."

"Well I wish you never had the displeasure of falling in love with that bastard." George retorted, "But we can't have everything, can we?"

Kaitlyn smiled, shaking her head, "No…no I guess we can't. And, honestly, I don't think I was really ever in love with him. Maybe for a bit towards the beginning. But I think I just got comfortable with him…and he made me feel like no one else could possibly ever want to date me."

At the murderous look that crossed George's face, Kaitlyn quickly continued with another reassuring squeeze to George's hand, "I don't believe that anymore. Honest, I don't."

George visibly relaxed and heaved a sigh, "Well, good. Because…well…" George took in a deep breath and looked up to meet Kaitlyn's chocolate eyes, "I'd like to date you."

There was a moment of silence where neither pair of brown eyes left the other. Kaitlyn was searching for something to say while George's heart hammered in his chest. He wasn't sure what compelled him to say it. Hadn't Kaitlyn _just _told him that it was too soon? He was definitely a total idiot. But before he could open his mouth to tell her it was a stupid thing to say, Kaitlyn leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his.

Her lips left his far too soon, in his opinion, and his eyes were still closed when he heard a soft giggle from across the table. He slowly opened them and was met with a smiling Kaitlyn.

"I…don't know if I'm ready to date anyone." Kaitlyn finally admitted as apologetically as she could. She felt this undeniably strong attraction to the red head both physically and emotionally, but Kaitlyn couldn't help being overcome with sadness every so often due to her ex-boyfriend. It wouldn't be fair to jump into something when she was still so emotionally unstable. But she also knew that she couldn't ask George to wait around for her. She squeezed his hand as though afraid he would recoil and continued, "But I want you to know that, when I am…if you'll have me still…if you haven't found a beautiful woman to be with instead, I would choose you in a heartbeat."

A part of George felt the sinking sensation of disappointment, but the large majority of him was absolutely enthralled with Kaitlyn's words. Of course, he would have liked to hear this the morning after their snog-fest, rather than a week later, but he found that he couldn't begrudge her for that when she was looking at him so earnestly.

"I can accept that." George said, giving the younger girl a reassuring grin, "One condition though." At Kaitlyn's nod, George went on, "This doesn't mean you'll shut me out and avoid me indefinitely until that day. I can handle not dating you for now, but I'd still like to have you around."

Kaitlyn blushed and giggled, "I think I'd like to be around."

"Good."

"Good."

"So you'll come to my family's for Christmas then?" At Kaitlyn's surprised look, he hastily added, "Not as my date, I mean. You and Kyle. I figure…well, after you visit your parents…"

Kaitlyn's features relaxed and she allowed herself to smile, "That…would be nice." She admitted. "We always visit with them and then…just…go home. It would be nice to have something to look forward to afterwards. Kyle might be going to Oliver Wood's," she let out a giggle at that, "And they invited me. But…I think I'd much rather come to your house. Hermione will be there, yes?"

George nodded, "Of course. And Harry as well, so you won't be the only guest." He assured her.

Kaitlyn grinned and gently untangled her fingers from George's, standing up. She cleared her throat and asked, timidly. "Well…that sounds like a plan then. But I'll…um…I'll owl you this week…to meet up for a few drinks after work? No Firewhiskey this time." She promised with a sardonic smile.

If he was happy after their intimate conversation, George was absolutely ecstatic now. He wasn't sure if he was physically able to smile any wider. "That sounds great." He said, standing up to walk Kaitlyn to the door, hoping his excitement was contained reasonably. Then, so Kaitlyn wouldn't feel as though he expected a date, George added, "You and Hermione could meet Ron and I one night after we close up shop. You'll be alright getting home?" George asked, quickly casting a _tempus _to see what time it was.

Kaitlyn nodded, "I'll just Apparate home. No wandering, don't worry. I'll owl you in a couple days." She promised. Then, she leaned up on her tippy toes and pressed a feather light kiss to George's cheek. "Thanks again, George. For everything."

George merely smiled at her in response, pulling the girl in for a brief hug, whispering in her ear, "Goodnight, Kaitlyn."

When Kaitlyn apparated with a soft _pop,_ George was left to stare at the spot she had just been in, a goofy grin threatening to split his face in two. Oh, yeah. It had _definitely _been a successful week.


	9. To Be Alive

**Author's Note: **This is the last chapter of PwF. I just want to thank all of my readers and reviewers for sticking by me throughout the life of this story. But the biggest thanks of all goes to Kim, my wonderful beta and biggest fan. She has given me the confidence to continue writing after an 8-year hiatus. Thank you so much, girl. You are amazing.

**To all my reviewers**: thank you for being patient with me. I know it took weeks of silence before you'd get one measly chapter update. This has not only been my first story since I stopped writing, but also one of my first het / OC-centric stories ever. You are all wonderful and you make my days with your kind words. It's been an amazing journey. Hopefully, I'll come out with another one for you soon.

Without further ado, I give you the end of _Playing with Firewhiskey_. Standard disclaimers apply.

* * *

><p>On Christmas afternoon, Kaitlyn found herself sitting in the Weasley's backyard, huddled next to Hermione underneath a warming charm. Unsurprisingly, they were in the middle of watching the Weasley boys, Harry, and Ginny play a game of Quidditch. Hermione had half-heartedly rooted for Ron for the first few minutes, but had quickly grown bored of watching.<p>

"This is what I have to deal with when you're not around," Hermione complained. "I don't understand how they don't get enough of it normally."

Kaitlyn laughed and shook her head. "Tell me about it. Oliver and Kyle go on for hours about Quidditch, and _they're_ professional players. You'd think they would want to talk about something else every once in awhile."

"Is that where Kyle is, then?" Hermione asked curiously. Kyle had accompanied Kaitlyn to the Burrow to thank Molly and Arthur Weasley for hosting Kaitlyn over Christmas but had left soon after to join Oliver and his family. It was the first Christmas Kaitlyn was spending without her brother.

Kaitlyn offered a nod to her friend but didn't elaborate. Although Kaitlyn was happy to be spending time with her friends and, more importantly, with George, she felt weird being around someone else's family on Christmas. She and Kyle had already made a visit to St. Mungo's that morning to give their parents their gifts – gifts that Kaitlyn knew would never be consciously used or appreciated. Perhaps it was because of the Thompson siblings' need for some sort of normalcy that they brought over new sweaters and shoes for their parents. Regardless, it didn't erase the hurt when their parents still hadn't acknowledged their presence.

Kaitlyn was so lost in her thoughts about her family that she didn't notice a sweaty George plopping down next to her until his arms were around her in a tight hug and a loud, "Happy Christmas!" was shouted into her ear.

If she could move, Kaitlyn would've jumped in surprise. As it was, her surprised yelp caused a chuckle to ripple through George, vibrating against her side. She couldn't help but smile too.

"Happy Christmas to you too," Kaitlyn said, carefully extracting herself from the red head's embrace and scrunching up her nose at him. "You're sweaty."

George laughed again and ruffled Kaitlyn's hair. "I'll go get changed. You gonna be alright out here?" There was a hint of concern in his voice that made Kaitlyn flush bright red before nodding. With a satisfied smile, George stood up and bounded into the house, presumably up to his old room.

Even a few minutes later, when Kaitlyn found herself in the Weasley living room with Hermione and Fleur Weasley, Kaitlyn couldn't rid herself of the fluttering feeling that awoke at the pit of her stomach when George smiled at her. It had been there ever since she and Hermione had met up with George and Ron after work a few days prior. She had been nervous, at first, since it would be the first time they saw each other since that night at the shop, but conversation had flowed freely and comfortably. It didn't stop Kaitlyn from flushing bright red every time George nudged her, and it definitely didn't stop Kaitlyn from melting when George gave her a goodnight kiss on the cheek before allowing her to Floo back to her own flat. She marveled at the feeling for hours afterwards and didn't even mind when Hermione gave her a knowing smile at work the next morning. Needless to say, Kaitlyn hadn't given Zacharias a second thought since then. It felt good when she realized, only after finding a t-shirt of his in her room, how long it had been since she had given any attention to her ex-boyfriend. And, after she had banished the shirt away from her sight, she didn't think about him again.

Molly called for dinner just as Ginny emerged from her room. Kaitlyn glanced around her as everyone shuffled to the kitchen and couldn't help but notice that George was still not back downstairs. She furrowed her eyebrows in slight concern, but didn't think much of it as everyone fought over seats at the magically enlarged kitchen table. She looked on in amusement as an exasperated Molly dealt with her children. Finally, Molly turned to her and gave her a warm smile.

"Kaitlyn, dear, you can sit right here next to…oh, has anyone seen George?"

"I think he's still in his room," Ron supplied, an edge of concern in his voice. "I can go get him."

After receiving a nod of consent from his mother, Ron got up and headed up to his older brother's room. Everyone was concerned about George on Christmas. He hadn't shown up last year, so it came as a surprise to the whole family when George announced that he was not only coming to Christmas, but that he was bringing someone with him. Ron wasn't exactly surprised to find out it was Kaitlyn; he knew there was something going on there. It was hard to work in a shop with George and not notice the owls that came in from the former Hufflepuff every day. Not to mention, Ron hadn't seen George excited about, well, _anything_ since Fred had passed away. That is, until Kaitlyn came into the picture.

Ron didn't know Kaitlyn very well; only that she was the younger sister of a professional Quidditch player – which was one of the _coolest _things in Ron's opinion – and that Hermione worked with her. She had always been friendly, and she made George laugh and smile in ways Ron hadn't seen since before Fred's death. In his mind, Kaitlyn was the miracle the Weasley family needed for George.

"George?" Ron called as he approached the twins' former room. There was no response for a minute, but Ron could hear shuffling and a somewhat loud crash. He raised his eyebrows with a weary look at the door. It was a habit to approach the twins' room with caution.

"I'm coming!" came George's muffled reply.

"Are you alright, mate?" Ron tried to sound casual and unconcerned, but the slight waver in his voice probably gave him away.

"I'm fine. Be there in a second." George's firm tone made Ron back away with a nod and retreat back to the dining room. Working with George had taught Ron how to read his body language and tone of voice well, and he could recognize when his brother need space.

"He's coming," Ron said brightly to his family as he slid into his seat, deciding it was best to leave out the part about the crash in the room. He would investigate it on his own later.

True enough to his word, George appeared in the kitchen a minute later, sliding into his seat next to Kaitlyn with a smile on his face. Kaitlyn could feel the tension radiating from George's body, despite the smiles he offered and the light tone of voice he used to converse with Bill, who was sitting on the other side of him. She vaguely wondered, as she passed the bowl of mashed potatoes to him, if anyone else noticed his forced behavior. Perhaps, Kaitlyn mused to herself, everyone was just too relieved that George had attended at all. But when Kaitlyn glanced at Ron, who was sitting across the table from her, she saw him watching George with a confused look on his face, just barely paying attention to the story Hermione was telling him.

The meal continued in this fashion: George enthusiastically conversed with anyone who would listen, and Ron and Kaitlyn would share a look of concern. But to Kaitlyn, it was almost as though George had done a complete 180 from when he'd greeted her after the Quidditch match. Where he had been warm, inviting and friendly before he'd gone up to his room, he was distant, absentminded and distracted now. He barely glanced at Kaitlyn throughout dinner and when he did, Kaitlyn could see that he wasn't actually listening to anything she was saying. Kaitlyn tried to tell herself that he wasn't ignoring her; after all, she wasn't his girlfriend, and he had never explicitly said that she was his date to Christmas dinner. Still, she couldn't help but be slightly hurt by the shallowness of his smile and how he never talked to her for more than just a moment before he switched gears to someone else.

_Come on, Kaitlyn, _she scolded herself. _He has a big family. He needs to talk to all of them. You're not the only one here. _

But she couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment when, after dinner, everyone moved towards the living room, and George chose to sit next to his brother Charlie, who was sitting across from Kaitlyn on the couch, instead of in the empty spot next to her. She tried to suppress a sigh when Ginny sat down next to her instead, with Harry on Ginny's other side. Maybe coming here was a mistake, she thought to herself. Maybe George wasn't ready for this. Maybe he didn't actually have as much fun as she thought he'd had at the bar earlier in the week and had come home and decided that everything they'd built up in the past few weeks wasn't worth it. She shook her head to clear her thoughts just as Ginny passed her a glass of wine. Kaitlyn accepted it with a small smile.

"He's a bit dense," Ginny offered, reading only partially what was on Kaitlyn's mind. "I'm sure he's not being an arse on purpose."

Kaitlyn gave a half-hearted laugh, taking a sip of the wine with a shrug in response. She wasn't sure what else she could say.

* * *

><p>By the end of dinner, George was sure that he'd convinced everyone else that he was just fine even though he definitely wasn't. He should've known better than to go into his old room, but it was just instinct. He'd had enough sense to beg Ron to let him stay in his room with him for the night, but he hadn't been thinking. He had been happy to see Kaitlyn and eager to wash up quickly so he could talk with her more.<p>

But the moment he had walked into his bedroom, he remembered exactly why he'd been avoiding it. It hadn't changed one bit since the last time he'd been in there, except, of course, that Fred wasn't around to be in the room with him. Not anymore. It was like a disaster scene that was so horrifying he couldn't tear his eyes away from. Before he knew it, George was sitting on Fred's old bed, just staring at his twin's childhood belongings he'd left behind when they had moved out. He thought he was ready to come back to the Burrow for Christmas. It was at this moment that George realized just how _not _ready he really was.

With every passing minute that he sat in his parents' house as the lone twin, George wished more and more that he hadn't decided to come to Christmas this year. But he couldn't let his mother see that. It would crush her – hence the happy-go-lucky act he was currently putting on for her. For her and his dad and the rest of his family. He knew it made them happy that he was at the Burrow; he couldn't take that away from them. So that was why George was so surprised when Kaitlyn and Ron cornered him prior to the gift exchange.

Everyone was sitting in the living room with a mug of beer or a glass of wine, laughing about past Christmases and reminiscing about Hogwarts days, especially since Ginny's graduation date was drawing near. George had quietly excused himself, standing up from his spot next to Charlie, who was busy telling Kaitlyn all about the dragons he worked with, to head towards the back door. He felt guilty, but he couldn't help it. He was avoiding Kaitlyn. And it seemed so backwards since _he _was the one who invited her to dinner, but George didn't have the heart to tell her he wished he hadn't come at all. She seemed to be having a nice enough time, and George would only be a downer. At least, that's what he told himself. He couldn't deprive her of a nice Christmas, especially since her parents… well, they couldn't give her the Christmas he knew she wanted.

So it startled him when he heard Ron call his name, just as his hand reached the back door. When he turned around, he was even more surprised – and a little mortified – to find that Kaitlyn was standing behind his younger brother, each of them wearing matching looks of concern.

_Shit. _George thought to himself. _They figured it out_.

_Of course they did, you dolt. _Fred's voice rang in his head. George had to suppress a groan; this was definitely not what he needed right now.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked as casually as he could, despite the fact that it looked like he scrambled to get to the kitchen in time.

Kaitlyn took Ron's mug of beer from him to refill with her glass of wine – presumably what they had told the others they had gone to do.

"Just need some air," George replied, trying to sound as cheerful as he could. By the looks on both of their faces, though, he had failed miserably.

_Try the truth, Georgie._ Fred's voice. Again.

George took in a deep breath to steady his nerves and realized that Kaitlyn and Ron were staring at him. Ron looked as though he weren't sure what to do, and Kaitlyn looked like she was debating approaching him or running away. For her sake, George hoped she did the latter. What was he thinking, trying to get involved with someone when he couldn't even keep himself straight for more than a few days at a time? He was a mess. He couldn't bring Kaitlyn into this. And what about Ron? It wasn't fair to him that he had an older brother who was, quite possibly, certifiably insane. George knew he was always kind of nuts, but not in an "I can hear my dead twin's voice in my head" kind of way. He was pretty sure that would qualify him for St. Mungo's in-patient services.

Suddenly, George felt like he couldn't breathe, like the walls of his childhood home were closing in around him. His palms were sweaty and his heart was beating so fast, he almost couldn't feel it beating at all. What was wrong with him?

"George… " Kaitlyn said gently, setting the cups in her hand aside. "You're shaking. Maybe you should sit down."

At the brunette's words, George snapped back to reality, his head reeling. He shook his head vigorously. "I'll be fine. I just… I… "

And before either Ron or Kaitlyn could do anything, George squeezed his eyes shut and Apparated away with nothing more than a soft _pop_.

Ron and Kaitlyn stood in a stunned silence for a moment. Neither of them knew how to process what had just happened. Ron was feeling a panicky feeling rising from the pit of his stomach. He had no idea where his brother had gone. None at all. What was he going to tell his mum?

"Here, Ron," Kaitlyn finally spoke, pushing his filled mug of beer back to him as well as Hermione's refilled glass of wine. "Why don't you go back in there? Maybe I should leave… "

Ron shook his head. "No. No. You can't. Don't… don't do that." He shook his head again, clearing the thoughts that were tumbling through it. "We just have to figure out where he went."

Kaitlyn frowned, filling her own glass up with some more wine. She was going to need it after everything that had just happened. It just didn't make sense. George was totally fine earlier in the day. The previous day, he'd even owl'd her to make sure that she was still coming. His letter contained nothing but excitement. Then, when she'd arrived, he seemed perfectly fine too. In fact, Kaitlyn had been expecting him to be a bit more somber, given the fact that it was his first Christmas at the Burrow without… _oh_.

_Oh. _

"Ron… " Kaitlyn addressed the redhead standing before her. She bit her lip before continuing, unsure of how to gracefully ask, "Where… er… w here is Fred…resting?"

Ron seemed confused by Kaitlyn's question at first, but she saw as realization dawned across his features moments later. His eyes widened, and his body slumped against the counter. "Shit," he swore. "We should've known he wasn't ready for this… "

"It's not your fault," Kaitlyn said gently, putting her hand on his arm. "And… I hope you don't take offense to this, but perhaps… perhaps I should go after him."

For a moment, it seemed as though Ron was going to go on one of his infamous tirades. She'd never been on the receiving end of one, but she'd seen her fair share of them during her days at Hogwarts. She flinched, as though preparing for the vocal blow. But it never came.

It took a minute for Kaitlyn to register that Ron was hugging her. She awkwardly patted his back for lack of a better thing to do, while Ron mumbled into her hair.

"I want to help him. I want to help him so much. He's my bloody brother, Kaitlyn. And I can't help him." Ron pulled away, looking uncharacteristically worn down and tired. It was then that Kaitlyn realized just how much of the burden of watching after George fell to Ron.

Kaitlyn gave the redhead's arm a reassuring squeeze. "And you are. You _are _helping him. But you also have to grieve. Fred… Fred's your brother too."

Ron took a shuddering breath and nodded a little bit. "I know. I just… feel like George needs someone, you know? And all the others… they're taking care of mum and dad and Ginny. George _needs _me. He just… doesn't quite know that." After a slight pause, he added, "He's in the family lot. Fred, that is. It's… it's not that far from here. Just up the hill that way." Ron pointed in the general direction of the hill.

"Well… he's really lucky to have you," Kaitlyn said, nodding at the information Ron gave her. "And Fred is really lucky you're around for him. You have to know that Fred would be so grateful to you." Kaitlyn gave Ron another smile and nudged him back to the living room. "You should go back in there. Open presents with your family. You can tell them that George had to take me home because I wasn't feeling well. I'll go find him."

It was time, Kaitlyn had decided, that she helped Ron pick up the pieces. She had to. Because George put her back together after Zacharias, and she knew that wasn't easy for him. No one had ever shown her that they cared so much about her like that before, and she just desperately needed to see for herself that George was going to be okay.

Ron sighed and nodded. "Alright. You… you'll be okay though?"

"I'll be just fine. I'll try to send you an owl tonight, yeah?"

"Thanks, Kaitlyn." Ron turned to leave and then, almost as a second thought, turned back around to face Kaitlyn again. He gave her a small smile and said, "You know, he really likes you. You make him happy in a way that… I just haven't seen since… Fred." With that, Ron turned and left the kitchen.

Kaitlyn felt her cheeks heat up as she heard Ron tell the rest of the family what was going on. Well, what they decided to tell them anyway. She was sure Hermione would see through Ron, but hopefully she would go along with it. Quickly, before anyone could come in and find her in the kitchen, Kaitlyn took her wand out to shrink two bottles of Butterbeer into the pockets of her robes and quickly left the Burrow, heading in the direction Ron had pointed her towards. She just hoped that George would be there.

* * *

><p>The minute his feet hit the ground, George let out a sigh of relief. He knew where he was, and it wasn't exactly an accident that he'd Apparated there. He just needed to get away and go somewhere where he felt safe. And he'd always felt safe with Fred. George heaved a sigh and moved expertly towards his twin's grave. He hated that word. It felt so… final.<p>

He felt badly about the way he left Ron and Kaitlyn in the kitchen like that. But he couldn't handle it anymore. Ron looked exhausted and he knew it was because of all of the time he spent helping George with the shop and reporting back to their mum about how George was really doing. He also knew that Ron didn't tell her the whole truth. George had to give Ron credit, though, for holding back with their mother. He knew it wasn't easy to lie to her. He also appreciated all the times Ron never said anything when he caught George moping, crying or having a breakdown. Sometimes, it was all three at once. But Ron always just gave George a sad smile and continued on with whatever he was doing. It couldn't have been easy.

And Kaitlyn. George may have been having a panic attack, but he couldn't miss the hurt look in the brunette's eyes. After everything, Zacharias, her parents and all, Kaitlyn had come out strong. And George couldn't look at her because he wasn't half as strong as she was. How could he protect her and take care of her – be her almost, sort of boyfriend – when he couldn't even get a grip on himself?

George dropped onto the ground, not really caring that it was cold and probably wet. He stared at the words carved into the simple yet elegant tombstone, heaving a soft sigh.

"Happy Christmas, Fred," he said softly, running a hand through his unruly red locks. "You've _got _to stop getting in my head at the most inconvenient times, mate." As with most of his visits to his twin's grave, George always tried to start with humor, if only because he knew that it wouldn't last very long before the tone got morose.

"Oh, of course. You're all silence on all fronts the minute I'm actually in a place where it might be a little less crazy for me to be talking to you," George added sarcastically, closing his eyes and leaning back against the tree that was behind him. There were several moments where George didn't say anything, simply allowing him to do the one thing he hadn't been able to do at the Burrow: relax.

"I miss you. I know you know that." George shrugged. "I just… I don't know why I can't shake it. Ron's… he's been helping me with the shop. I know, I know. But he's actually really good at it and I honestly don't know where I'd be without him around. He keeps things running when I… well, when I miss you too much." Finally, George opened his eyes, leaning forward to run his fingers over the delicately carved lettering on the tombstone. "And he's been trying to help with some of the products. He's got some ideas that aren't totally ridiculous."

George paused for a moment, taking a deep breath before finally saying what was really on his mind. It shouldn't be this hard – it was _Fred _after all. And George knew that, had his twin been alive today, George would never have hesitated. It wouldn't even have been an issue. But for some reason, now… now that Fred wasn't… he couldn't… it just felt _wrong_. Even though, when he was being rational, George could admit that _that _was a ridiculous train of thought.

_Come on, Georgie. Spit it out. I already know what you're going to say, anyway._

George never thought he would be so relieved to hear Fred's voice in his head, figment of his imagination or otherwise. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and said softly, "I really like her, Freddie."

_You'd be crazy if you didn't, you know. She's great._

"I know. I _know_. And I just… I thought I was doing the right thing by her, giving her space after that break-up, being friends with her. But I… "

_You're falling for her. _

"But I can't!" George exploded, on his knees now, as though begging the non-existent form of his twin to understand. "I can't, that's just… that's not… "

_You're allowed to have a girlfriend, George. She makes you happy. Anyone with eyes can see that. Why can't you?_

"I… " George faltered, at a complete loss for words. He felt that familiar tightening at the back of his throat, and he squeezed his eyes shut, as though that would make the lump go away. "I just can't," he finally whispered.

There was a long silence, where George felt the pounding in his heart start to slow down, where he focused on breathing because that was easy. That was _right_.

_You know… I've said this to you before, but… dammit George, I _want_ you to be happy. I know she's never going to take my place. We're brothers – _twins_, Georgie. I know that would never happen. Stop feeling so bloody guilty and just let yourself live. Yes, _live_. You know, because you're the one that's still _alive_. I think you forget that sometimes. _

George just stared at the tombstone for a moment, unsure of when exactly he'd allowed the tears to begin leaking from his eyes, coursing down his cheeks and dripping onto the already dewy grass before him. His mind was racing with conflicting thoughts. He knew "Fred," imaginary or not, was right. But he still couldn't help but feel as though he were betraying his twin's memory by allowing himself to fall – really fall – for Kaitlyn.

He was so consumed in his mental battle that he didn't hear Kaitlyn's soft footfalls approaching as she carefully climbed the hill that led to the Weasley family site. He didn't hear her softly calling his name, so that she wouldn't startle him. It didn't fully register in George's head that Kaitlyn was even there until she gingerly sat down next to him, carefully setting the previously shrunken Butterbeers in front of him. She cast a quick warming charm – not just on the drinks, but on George as well.

Before George could protest to anything, Kaitlyn spoke softly, ignoring the tears coursing down George's cheeks, for which he was grateful.

"I thought you and Fred might get thirsty," she said simply.

George snapped his eyes up to look at Kaitlyn, confusion and anger clouding up his eyes. Was she insulting him? But when she only smiled softly at him, without a hint of judgment or mocking, George realized that she meant it. She wasn't making fun of him. She understood. She really understood.

_Do you see what I mean? _Fred's voice, also not mocking, whispered in his ear.

And for the first time, George did. He really did.

He turned back towards Kaitlyn, who had quietly turned her eyes up to the sky in a respectful silence, allowing George all the time he needed. But the one thing she didn't do was leave. She wasn't leaving because, George realized, she knew he didn't actually want to be alone. He didn't exactly want a ton of company though, and he definitely didn't want to make ridiculously stupid small talk. No one else really understood that. But she did, because Kaitlyn, very simply put, _understood_.

George reached out, hesitating for only a moment before he placed a hand gently on the brunette's arm. When she turned her eyes back over to him, George gave her a smile – a genuine smile. "Thank you."

Kaitlyn returned the smile and nodded in acknowledgement.

Tentatively, George pushed one of the mugs of Butterbeer towards the brunette. "You should have this instead. I bet… I bet Fred's not as cold as you are."

Kaitlyn allowed a soft chuckle to escape before she graciously accepted the mug from George, lifting it up in a toast. "Happy Christmas, George." Then – and later on, George would realize this was the moment that he fell in love with her – Kaitlyn turned towards the tombstone and, just as sincerely said, "Happy Christmas, Fred."

Without really thinking, George set his mug of Butterbeer back down and reached over, pulling Kaitlyn into a hug. He needed something warm and solid, almost as a confirmation that, yes, he was really alive.

Kaitlyn returned the hug with matched ferocity and whispered in his ear, "You're going to be okay."

It wasn't a question. It wasn't even just a generic saying, even though it sounded like it. Kaitlyn was telling him. She was telling him in a way that she knew he understood. He was going to be okay because she was going to be there for him, and Ron was going to continue to be there for him, and it would take time, but one day, he was going to be okay. And though this was a phrase he'd heard countless times in the past year, this was the first time George actually believed it.

It made him feel good. Overwhelmingly good, like he had just inhaled a breath that he'd been waiting to take for a year. . He closed his eyes, squeezing Kaitlyn closer to him because he didn't want her to ever go away. George didn't know how long they stayed like that, but it was the dissipating warming charm and a particularly strong gust of wind that caused George to reluctantly pull away from the younger girl.

"I don't want to go back to the Burrow," he admitted quietly, his arms sliding down to Kaitlyn's waist.

Kaitlyn considered him for a moment and the nodded slightly. "Well… Ron told your mum I wasn't feeling well and that you had decided to take me home."

"But… " George started. "But I… I just don't really want to be alone

Kaitlyn nodded again, squeezing his arms where her hands lay. "Do you want me to come over?"

George hesitated for a moment, ducking his head to rest his forehead against Kaitlyn's, closing his eyes for a moment. "No… I… " He took in a steadying breath and asked timidly, "Do you think I could stay at your flat instead?"

George didn't know how to tell her that he just didn't want to be somewhere that reminded him so strongly of his twin. Fred would, of course, always be there in the back of his mind. But everything about their flat and the shop and the Burrow screamed of better days. He couldn't think about that right now.

"Of course," Kaitlyn said, pulling back for just a moment so that she could take his hand in hers, squeezing it gently. "Kyle will be at Oliver's tonight. We'll have the place to ourselves." Kaitlyn carefully stood up, disentangling herself from George's arms. "I'll be waiting over there so you can say goodnight to Fred. Take your time," she said sincerely, gathering up the mugs and offering George a smile before she wandered away.

George let out a breath as he watched the petite brunette walk away. He looked back over at Fred's tombstone and smiled.

"As always, Gred, you were right."

_You sound surprised, Forge._

At this, George let out a laugh. Whether it was out of the immense relief that he had been absolved of any guilt he'd been feeling regarding Kaitlyn or because he was actually going insane was beyond him. He didn't really care. He fondly patted the top of the tombstone and stood up, brushing the grass off of his jeans.

"Goodbye, Fred."

_See ya later, brother. _

And even though George knew he wouldn't actually _see _Fred anytime soon, for once, he really believed that everything would be alright. He was going to be okay.

With one last glance back at the grave site, George headed in the direction he'd seen Kaitlyn go, finding the former Hufflepuff carefully folding something into her robes. She looked up when George approached and gave him a smile, offering an arm out to him.

"Ready?"

George took her arm and looked down at her, smiling. "I'm ready."

Within another moment, George found himself landing in the living room of the Thompson siblings' flat. Kaitlyn shook her head next to him, scrunching up her nose. Apparition had never been her favorite form of travel.

"Something to drink?" she asked George, making her way to the kitchen. Her heard her rummaging around in the fridge as he made his way towards her voice. "We have water, some cider, Butterbeer, Firewhiskey, regular beer."

George considered it for a moment as he leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen and then said, "Just water. We seem to end up in interesting situations when Firewhiskey is involved."

Kaitlyn laughed softly, flicking her wand to direct two glasses towards the sink to be filled with water. "Fair enough."

There were only a couple minutes of awkward silence before the pair fell into comfortable conversation about George's shop, Kaitlyn's job and juicy gossip about Kyle and Oliver's relationship. After all, George needed some new ammunition against Oliver; the Quidditch and the gay jokes were getting kind of old, even to George. Kaitlyn did her best to keep conversation topics light. It had been a long day for both of them.

An hour into their conversation found Kaitlyn sprawled on her couch, her feet in George's lap. George had his feet up on the coffee table and the two were in the middle of comparing the merits of the different aspects within one of George's Skiving Snack Boxes.

"I'm just saying," Kaitlyn said, waving her wand to summon a packet of crisps and throwing the bag to George after taking a handful for herself. "You could make a lot more money if you categorized them and reused some of the same elements, but just made them a little different. It's all in the naming and the packaging, seriously."

"Huh," George mused, stuffing a few crisps into his mouth. "That's not a terrible idea. I _knew _I kept you around for a reason." He teased, throwing his patented Weasley twin smirk Kaitlyn's way.

Kaitlyn just laughed and shook her head, sitting up to wipe her greasy hands playfully on George's jeans, earning a mock glare from the red head. Kaitlyn simply smiled in return. "So do you want your Christmas present?"

George's eyebrows flew up in surprise and Kaitlyn couldn't help but giggle at the sight.

"I brought it over to your mum's house, but when you were saying goodbye to Fred, I Accio'd it to me so that I could give it to you."

"Wow that was devious, Thompson," George complimented her with a smile. "You're much sneakier than I've given you credit for."

Kaitlyn winked. "Learned from the best, didn't I?" Kaitlyn wasn't sure where she got the courage to do this, but she'd decided earlier in the evening that she was just going to throw caution to the wind when it came to George. Clearly, it was working so far. She just hoped it would continue to work.

George flushed bright red at the indirect praise and shrugged as nonchalantly as possible. "Well then, what'd you get me?"

"Patience." Kaitlyn rolled her eyes, standing up to go fetch the gift from her room.

George stood and followed the brunette, leaning against the door frame of her bedroom as she grabbed the wrapped box sitting on her desk. She turned and gave George a smile, handing it over to him.

"It's not much. I really wasn't sure what to get you, but… this seemed like it might be appropriate." She was fidgeting so she sat down on her bed, gesturing for George to get on with opening the present.

"Well you didn't have to get me anything," George said as a way of assuring Kaitlyn. He sat down next to her and ripped the wrapping paper, tossing it off to the side, just barely missing the exasperated glare Kaitlyn threw him. He only smiled.

George opened up the box and his eyes widened as he carefully lifted the leather bound book, allowing the box to drop to the ground as well. This time, Kaitlyn didn't react; she simply watched George tentatively, her teeth worrying her bottom lip.

After another moment's silence as George flipped through the currently empty book, Kaitlyn finally spoke up. "I… I know that you miss Fred everyday. I sort of feel that way about my parents too. A few months ago, I started to gather as many memories as I could find of them. I had to dig through boxes and go into the deep depths of my closet and under my bed. But I found them. And… well, it was hard at first. But it really helped for me to put a book together about them – the Muggle way – because even though they… they have no idea who I am, at least… at the very least, I have this. And I thought maybe it would help you too. It was kind of therapeutic." Kaitlyn paused and, as an afterthought, quickly added on, "Whenever you're ready to that is."

George fingered the soft leather binding of the book and picked the box up from the floor again, seeing some Muggle craft supplies he'd seen in his dad's garage. He stared at it for a few moments, his mind racing. He was grateful, touched and floored all at the same time. Finally, he raised his eyes to meet Kaitlyn's obviously anxious gaze.

"I love it," he finally whispered, setting the book into the box and carefully placed the box on the floor next to Kaitlyn's bed.

Later on, George would claim he had no idea exactly what was going through his mind in the next few moments. The next thing he knew, he had Kaitlyn pulled flush against his chest and, before he could stop himself, his lips met hers in a kiss that would say more than any words ever could. When the need for air overwhelmed both of them, one of them – neither had a clue which one and really, it didn't matter – pulled away. They stayed close, though, Kaitlyn's fingers grasping at George's waist as though she were afraid he'd disappear if she let go.

"George… " Kaitlyn breathed, eyes still closed. "Are you sure about this?" She hated to ruin the moment, but things had been going relatively well between the pair and the last thing Kaitlyn wanted to do was rush this – for both of them.

George reached up to brush a few stray locks of hair away from Kaitlyn's face, causing the brunette's eyes to flutter open. George couldn't help but smile at her. She was worried, and he knew she had every reason to be. They both came with a considerable amount of baggage, but George supposed that anyone who had been a living casualty of the war would. And they understood each other. Wasn't that what mattered most? And wasn't it time, George reasoned with himself, that _both _of them took Fred's advice?

"Only if you are," he responded finally, the palm of his hand cupping her cheek gently.

They looked at each other for a long moment; their eyes locked and their faces only centimeters away from each other. Neither of them knew who moved first – later they would agree that they moved at the same time. Their lips met again, neither of them needing the words to express the I'm-not-sure-what's-going-to-happen-but-you-make-me-happy-and-that's-all-that-matters that radiated in the way their lips moved against on another.

And that was the moment George Weasley and Kaitlyn Thompson began to live again. Together.


End file.
